Waiting
by lunaryu
Summary: In which Kagami is sent back home to Japan because of health condition. He sees the GoM match and falls for the most invisible guy's play on court. He just can't wait to play basketball again, so he can stand on the same court as that amazing blue haired boy. AU/AR, Kaga/Kuro. UPDATED! Chapter 10: All Middle Tournament, STARTS!
1. The First Meeting

**Waiting**

**Fandom: **Kuroko no Basuke

**Rating: **T/Pg-15

**Genre: **Drama/Romance/Friendship

**Pairing: **Kagami/Kuroko

**Summary: **_In which Kagami is sent back home to Japan because of health condition. He sees the GoM match and falls for the most invisible guy's play on court. He just can't wait to play basketball again, so he can stand in the same court as that amazing blue haired boy._

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**Disclaimer: Fujimaki Tadatoshi owns Kuroko no Basuke**

**Warning: **_shounen ai (soft yaoi), AU and AR, language, possible spelling mistakes and grammar errors, etc._

**A/N: **Okay, I'm just dying because of the lack of KagaKuro dose. I really wish that more people would make story (or doujin) for this pair T_T. Alright, so… this story takes place during Teikou days, and Kagami actually knows about the GoM. I can't give you the detail here, so… please just take a sip of this story.

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**Chapter 1: **_**First Meeting**_

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"_I'm sorry, Taiga. But your leg injury is just too severe. You have to stop playing basketball, at least for the time being until it heals completely. Can you do that for me?"_

Kagami stared blankly at the puffs of white clouds through the small window of the airplane that was taking him away from his family and his home. Even though he was supposed to _go home_ to his birthplace in Japan, America… _Los Angeles_ had been his home since he was 7.

"_Don't worry. There will be a caretaker there that will tend to your need. All you have to do is ask."_

But that wasn't what worried Kagami. He didn't really give a damn about money or the essential needs since he knew perfectly well how loaded his parents were; and he was sure they wouldn't let him starve in an unfamiliar place, away from them. What _did _really upset him was the fact that none of his family and friends would be there with him.

Kagami hated being alone. It was lonely.

The red-corn haired boy sniffed and grunted, frowning slightly as he felt a twinge of pain, not only on his injured leg, but also in his heart. He still didn't get why he had to leave America at all. Wasn't it okay if he stayed? He only had to lay low for the time being…

Kagami remembered his friends, especially the ones he used to hang out most… in the street ball court together with Himuro Tatsuya, his sworn brother. Those guys would be all over him and-…

A bead of sweat trickled down his cheek. Well, maybe it wasn't such a good idea. After all, Kagami would be tempted to break his promise if he stayed. He loved basketball too much to take a break from it, especially if he was surrounded by those amazing guys.

_And something like that happened with Tatsuya as well…_

"_How could you?! You are the worst!"_

Kagami involuntarily held his chest at the particular sharp pain he felt in there, along with the remembrance of a hard punch to his left cheek. Really, it even hurt more than his leg injury. Tatsuya's angry and hateful words… Kagami just wished that Tatsuya could forgive him for acting stupid. Kagami was an idiot and he knew that perfectly well.

Kagami just didn't understand why Tatsuya was betting on their brotherhood on the court. He just didn't want to lose his kind and reliable big brother. That's why he played half-heartedly in that match. He was serious, but he just couldn't pull all his power out when it was against Tatsuya and the dark haired teen was so furious and disappointed in him because of that.

Kagami slouched, feeling strength leaving his body as his shoulder slumped as well, and then he crouched slightly on his seat as he thought about all the depressing things. He wished he could turn the time backwards just for a couple of days and repeated the match. He wished he had been trying his hardest in that match and won it and asked Tatsuya to still be brothers with him whatever the result was. He wished he hadn't passed that road _that night_. Then, he wouldn't have been in this state.

Kagami sighed heavily and suddenly, he heard a voice. "Are you alright?"

Kagami blinked once before turning his head to face the owner of that voice. He blinked twice more before his eyes caught a sight of a light-blue haired man with clear aquamarine colored eyes, probably on his thirties, as he smiled faintly at Kagami from his seat, which was just beside him.

…

…

_Wait, since when has he sat here?_—Kagami couldn't recall if he had seen the man when the plane took off earlier. He must have been sitting there the whole time, right? How come Kagami didn't realize he was there at all in the first place?

"You are a Japanese boy, right?" the man spoke again in fluent Japanese, sounding mildly concerned.

"Ah? _Y-yeah_, I mean, 'yes'…" Kagami answered slowly and rather stutteringly since he was trying to familiarize himself once again with Japanese language.

Kagami still remembered how to speak Japanese since he used it at his American home when he talked to his parents, and sometimes with Tatsuya, but he almost overlooked that there was a hierarchy system in the language and it had been awhile since he spoke formal Japanese. Moreover, he completely forgot how to read and write Kanji while he was abroad, so he made note to learn all over again as soon as he arrived later.

"I see… a returnee, huh?" the blue haired man smiled again, a little bit distinctive this time, seeming to read Kagami's body language. "Going home for a summer break?" he asked again.

"Uh… well, not exactly," Kagami chuckled slightly, feeling somehow uncomfortable with the topic because he really didn't want to sound like a sour loser for retreating back to hometown after losing a 'big' match.

That man seemed to be very observant though, because he quickly changed the topic. "Well, are you okay? Your face is rather pale," he pointed out, once again showing a worried look.

Kagami was grateful for it. This blue eyed-blue haired stranger took the trouble to actually ask how he was. There were nice people in this world and Kagami felt a lot better when he knew that personally.

"Yes, I'm fine. Thank you for asking," Kagami said in English because he didn't recall how to say that politely in Japan.

The man blinked once in a surprised look before he chuckled. "You are welcome," and he replied with fluent English as well.

Kagami didn't know if the man was Japanese or not because of his strange hair and eye color. His complexion was also very pale. But, he did know that the man had a very nice smile. A kind of smile that lit his eyes and warmed you heart when you saw it.

Their conversation was quite short though, and the man didn't say anything else when Kagami closed his eyes, trying to catch some sleep since he would be hours in that plane. Might as well make himself comfortable. However, when Kagami woke up a few hours later, the man wasn't there anymore. Kagami figured that he was probably taking a stroll or was in the rest room.

Strangely, Kagami actually forgot the man when the plane landed and didn't think much about him when he didn't see him at all in the rest of the flight.

* * *

**~Kagami x Kuroko~**

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"I'm going to enroll to Shōei Middle School?" Kagami looked at the paper on the table. His caretaker said his father already contacted the public middle school and the application was immediately sent to his home for Kagami to fill out. His caretaker would send it back immediately to the school before Kagami would take a test three days before the new semester started again in autumn.

Kagami groaned. He hadn't yet learned to read Kanji the right way again. How would he take the test if he couldn't even read the letters?

"I believed the school would provide the test in English, Taiga. Your father specifically asked the principal for it. Oh, right, and there will be interview as well. You should learn the formal Japanese language and review your study just to make sure you don't screw up," Yamamoto added and Kagami couldn't help groaning again, thumping the side of his head on the table.

Kagami missed playing basketball. Rather than reviewing all his past school lessons, he really just wanted to pick up the orange ball and threw it into the basket. It was only a week after the summer vacation began, and three weeks after his surgery, but Kagami had already itched to play basketball again.

"Can I at least touch my ball?" Kagami whined.

…

…

There was a really long silence before- "Taiga… _that kind of thing_ shouldn't be asked to other people in such vulgar manner," Yamamoto replied while averting his gaze and coughing slightly, looking very-very uncomfortable.

"Haa?" Kagami frowned, feeling confused. "What do you mean by _that kind of thing_? I just want to play with my—," suddenly, a realization dawned on Kagami and he flushed. "Oh."

Yamamoto coughed again. "Yes. _Oh_."

Kagami felt like wanting to die of embarrassment as he hid his face behind his arms on the table. "That's not what I meant! I meant basketball! _Basketball!_" He knew his loud voice was muffled by his own skin, but he still couldn't show his face because it felt like a furnace and it must have been very red because damn it! He couldn't believe that his speech could come out oh so very _wrong_.

Kagami hated innuendos. Very. Much.

Yamamoto snorted lightly, sounding very amused and full of humor. "It's _language_."

Kagami also hated his caretaker. Not so much, but he resented him, alright.

* * *

**~Kagami x Kuroko~**

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"Aah, this is so boring…" Kagami stretched his body up while yawning, momentarily leaving his Japanese History textbook to take a glance outside the window of his room. His gaze caught a sight of a street ball court near the park which located just in front of his house.

Kagami stared at the court longingly. "I wanna play…" He sighed and thumped his forehead on the glass window. It was hot. The heat of the summer day increased its temperature that Kagami couldn't feel earlier because of the air conditioner in his room, but now he could feel it directly on his skin, the hot glass, despite the cool breeze inside.

"Wanna eat ice cream too," Kagami whined to himself, completely aware that he sounded pitiful at that moment, but he couldn't help it. He really was fed up with all the stupid strange letters that he had to decipher in the textbook.

That's it. He had enough of it. Kagami abandoned the textbook and the dictionary in favor to go to the kitchen to grab some cold drink. He tentatively walked, minding his injury even though he no longer needed a crutch to walk around. As long as he kept the movement light and minimum, it didn't really hurt that much.

Kagami opened the fridge and took out a bottle of lemon soda before unscrewing the cap and then drinking the chilly beverage directly from the bottle.

"Phew~ how refreshing." Kagami smiled in relief before closing the fridge and walked back towards the study room. He stopped in front of the door and looked around when he noticed the silence in the house.

_Yamamoto-jii isn't home, huh? Shopping for dinner, maybe?—_Kagami wondered thoughtfully before an idea struck him in the head. _Chance!_

Kagami grinned. He could sneak out of the house before his caretaker came back from grocery shopping! It would be alright. He wouldn't wander off that far… maybe only to the street ball court at the park in front of his house, to _see _if there were people playing there.

Kagami wouldn't play. He knew he couldn't with his injury. He would just watch, just to get rid of the boredom, and then he would come back before Yamamoto knew that he went out. It was perfect.

Kagami turned around and pranced slowly and tentatively towards the front door. He opened the door and stepped outside before closing it again and locked it with the master key. Yamamoto always left the key in the cupboard at the living room. Kagami would return it after he got home later.

* * *

**~Kagami x Kuroko~**

* * *

Surprisingly, Kagami needed more time to arrive to the street ball court. Even if it looked really close to his house, the court was inside a park, and to get inside the court, he had to enter the park from its entrance.

Normally, Kagami would just jump the bushes that separated the park with the road, but because of his leg injury, it was impossible to perform without making him cringe in pain. The safest route was to take a detour and to enter normally using the official entrance.

Still, Kagami's effort was totally worth it because he could see some people playing in the court now. He grinned behind the rail, watching the game. Looking from their height and school uniform, Kagami believed that those guys were at least in high school. It was fascinating unlike what he thought at first when he set his foot the first time in Japan after six years.

Kagami had thought Japanese's basketball was lame, the level too low for his standard because he grew up watching basketball players in LA. However, after watching some senior games, it was actually pretty cool in its own way.

Unfortunately, the game didn't last very long. As soon as the match was done, those high school students were gone to do their business, leaving the court vacant with only a basketball rolling on the side court.

Kagami entered the court hesitantly. He wouldn't play. He would just take the ball and do some light dribbling without moving. That way his injured leg wouldn't get burdened. However, before he could approach the ball on the other side of the court, someone already beat him to it.

Kagami yelped slightly because he didn't see anyone enter the court earlier. It surprised him that he almost jumped. He blinked several times and narrowed his eyes to focus on the person who lifted the ball and held it close to his stomach.

A light-blue haired boy with sky-blue colored round eyes stared at his direction. Kagami blinked again, making sure that he really saw the boy there because he could have sworn the boy's skin was so pale he almost looked translucent.

"Do you want to play basketball?" the smaller boy asked, snapping Kagami out of his muse about the boy's weird appearance. Blue eyes, blue hair… Was it normal color for Japanese?

"Ah?" Kagami looked upward, blinking again almost feeling stupid for he was actually gaping, trying to comprehend what he saw. "Uh… no? Err…" he looked away slightly, not wanting to say that he got leg injury so he couldn't play. "Not in the mood… I just wanted to see around," he replied instead.

"I see…" the boy nodded evenly, not showing any expression at all that it was rather disturbing. "Then is it okay if I play with this ball?" he asked a short time later, lifting the orange ball up slightly to show Kagami.

"Oh, sure, wasn't mine anyway. I'll just…" Kagami trailed while flailing his hand to the general direction of the bench. "You don't mind if I watch, do you?" he asked before turning around, just to make sure that he wasn't intruding.

"Be my guest," the pale boy answered flatly, not looking at Kagami as he started to dribble the ball to the ring.

Kagami shrugged as he slowly walked to the bench and sat down, silently watching the sky-blue haired boy dribbling, making a lone move of pivoting and turning, a small smile tugging at his face and he actually looked happy as he played by himself.

Unconsciously, Kagami smiled as well. He instantly knew that that odd boy also loved basketball, just like Kagami did. Kagami continued watching in calm quietness, feeling content just by hearing the repeated thumping sound of the ball hitting the ground, not exactly finding it strange that the boy didn't even try to shoot the ball to the ring. Not even once.

When Kagami realized it, the sun had almost set and he cursed lightly as he remembered that he was supposed to go home before Yamamoto. But looking at the time, it was probably too late and he would definitely get lectured at after this.

Kagami let out a long sigh in resignation. Well, at least he could be near basketball again, even though he couldn't play by himself. He stood and slowly made a beeline to the court entrance before turning once more to face the other boy who didn't even notice him leaving, too absorb in his own play.

"See you tomorrow," Kagami whispered lightly, not really wanting to disturb his good time.

However, when Kagami turned around to leave, he could have sworn he heard the equally quiet reply.

_"See you again."_

**End of Chapter 1**

**Tbc…**

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**A/N: **Just a light AU story I want to make. I hope you guys enjoy it. Feed back? Always encouraged! XD


	2. Kuroko, Aomine & Kiyoshi

**Disclaimer and Warning: **_**See chapter 1.**_

**A/N: **Wokay, I don't exactly know why I wrote this, seriously. This turns out a little differently from my idea. Anyway, I didn't expect that people would actually review at first, because this seems boring at fleeting glance, but then you readers always surprised me. I'm so glad that you still want to read it despite how _common_ the theme was *grins* I'm very happy and grateful for the reviews, faves and alerts I got on this story!

Anyway, I actually wanted to update this yesterday, but I got distracted by a lot of things before I could. Luckily, today is _my_ holiday, so I can post this quite early~*love* Now, please enjoy this second chapter!

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**Chapter 2: **_**Kuroko Tetsuya, Aomine Daiki and Kiyoshi Teppei**_

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"Sheesh, that Yamamoto… he didn't have to be so strict about the studying schedule," Kagami muttered grumpily as he snuck out of his house the next day.

Indeed, Kagami had gone through a long boring lecture about not wandering off alone without supervision since his injury could act up at times, and he should bring his damned crutch so he didn't burden his wounded leg too much. The old man was pretty noisy about his study as well since it was less than a week before Kagami had to take the exam to enter his new middle school.

But, like hell if Kagami would just take all of them and said yes like an obedient kid, alright. He was tired of getting monitored and being watched over like a fragile baby duck that couldn't take care of himself. He swore he would live alone in apartment when he entered high school.

Kagami walked through the same route as yesterday to go to the park. He didn't let his expectation get the better of him too much, though, when he came back to the street ball court where he met that mysterious guy.

Kagami knew it was a long shot that the sky-blue haired boy would be there again. Moreover, the street ball court wouldn't be vacant at this time of the day. Besides, it was still in the middle of summer vacation even though there was only less than a week left.

Still, Kagami went there anyway. It wasn't like he came only to see the bluenet, he just wanted to watch a basketball game, whoever played it.

As predicted, the court was currently being used. This time though, the players were apparently from a local middle school. Although, Kagami wouldn't know since they didn't wear any uniform. They looked younger than the bunch of high schoolers the day before.

One of the players in the court, the tallest one with dark brown hair seemed to notice his arrival as he picked up the ball that was thrown out of court. "Hey!" he waved at Kagami with a wide smile, to Kagami's surprise.

"Uh… hey?" Kagami wasn't sure why he sounded like asking, but he didn't know the stranger, so it was kind of weird that the brunet greeted him as if he was an old friend.

"Wanna join us playing basketball?" the brunet asked with a friendly grin, holding up the basketball in invitation to him, and suddenly Kagami was assaulted with a memory from the past, when Himuro asked him to join him playing basketball for the first time.

Kagami blinked out from his reverie and shook his head to bury the image back to where it belonged, at the back of his mind. Then he smiled slightly at the brunet in reaction to his call. "Thanks, but no. I only want to watch today," he said, rather apologetically because it wasn't entirely true.

If Kagami could, he would definitely play as well, but he had to fiercely remind himself that his injured leg would get worse and the threat of being totally crippled and unable to play basketball again for the rest of his life did its job to increase his patience.

"Ah, too bad, and you could totally be a great center with that height," the brunet said before he was called back by his others friends to hurry up and throw the ball in again. "Coming!" he turned around and waved at them, but turned to face Kagami once again and shouted "Enjoy the show then!" before he ran off back to the court.

"Ah," Kagami nodded tightly before he slowly strutted towards the bench and sat there, watching the others play. "Though… I'd rather be the power forward if I played," he mumbled quietly after that, getting absorbed in the friendly match as he imagined what he would do if he was one of the players instead.

"Hello."

Kagami almost jumped out of his seat while letting out an almost girlish shriek as he heard the monotone voice. He turned around only to be faced by the same light blue hair and pale blue eyes of a boy from the day before. "Y-you… you surprised me…!"

Kagami clutched at his chest, feeling his heart beating a little too fast and too hard to his liking. He could feel a bead of cold sweat breaking out of his cheek despite the hot weather.

"Pardon, I did not think you would be that surprised," the shorter boy uttered, not looking or sounding sorry at all. It was rather annoying, but Kagami found it troublesome to being mad at the boy for something trivia like that, especially in a hot day like that, so he just huffed.

"When did you get here anyway?" Kagami asked instead, curious because seriously, he didn't feel the boy's presence at all until he was addressed just then.

"I had been sitting here before you arrived," the bluenet replied and Kagami sputtered in shock.

"No way! I didn't see you there a minute before!"

"It is the usual occurrence. People often simply miss my presence," the boy replied in easy tone.

"That… that's kinda sad…" Kagami couldn't help feeling ridiculous for being overly sentiment to the boy he barely knew, but it was the truth. That was very peculiar.

"Not really. It is actually pretty handy when you like observing people. They will not get mad at you for staring at them if they do not detect your presence, right?" the boy seemed pretty amused as he turned to face Kagami with his blank expression. If anyone asked where Kagami got the bizarre idea about the boy's mood, he would say it was because of the boy's eyes.

Even though the bluenet was always straight-faced (as far as Kagami had seen), his aquamarine orbs were rich of emotion. Kagami could see the glint of mirth in the boy's eyes as he spoke about his hobby.

"That's… rather creepy," Kagami admitted, for the lack of his vocabulary to comment about the other boy's pastime in watching people. Was he a closet stalker? That was disturbing for so many reasons. Even more so when people couldn't watch him in return because of his thin presence.

The other boy blinked once in a brief silence before a tiny (micro) smile bloomed on his face and Kagami almost gasped as soon as he saw it, his heart unpredictably fluttered at the somewhat magical and gorgeous view the very small smile had evoked from the constant dull expression.

The sky-blue haired boy appeared as if he was blossoming like water lily. It was honestly stunning and beautiful and—_huh?!_

Kagami snapped. _Wait! Wait, wait, wait a damn second!_—his mind screeched in alert, reminding his rational sense about his suspicious extreme body reaction _and_ overly active imagination to the smaller boy's barely discernible smile. _It's just a freaking smile! A plain minuscule smile, damn it! Why is my heart suddenly racing?!_

Seriously, Kagami was confused. He tried to compose himself as he shook his head and clutched at his chest some more. This was very wacky. Why did he feel this way to a stranger… alright, _a boy_ whose name he didn't even know?

The other didn't seem to notice Kagami's unexpected predicament as he stated, "You said something pretty interesting," in regard of Kagami's remark about his _'creepy'_ hobby.

"I did?" Kagami was even more bemused, still mulling over his own odd response to Kuroko's unforeseen appeal, but now added with the boy's opinion about his own words. He thought it was quite standard to think that a stalking behavior was categorized as 'creepy'.

"Yes," the boy nodded slightly before he turned to face the court again. "Believe it or not, it is the other way around in reality."

"Huh?" Kagami was perplexed now because the boy said something that didn't make sense. "What do you mean—?"

"Oi, Tetsu!"

A calling voice interrupted Kagami's speech, distracting him as he turned around to face the owner of that voice. He squinted to see more clearly of someone running to their direction. In a closer inspection after the person arrived, Kagami could see a tall very tan boy, probably the same age as Kagami since their heights were roughly leveled.

"Aomine-kun," the boy beside Kagami spoke, which startled Kagami because he almost forgot that he was there.

_Sheesh, it's indeed so easy to forget his presence! What a scary ability!_—Kagami couldn't help pondering inwardly as those guys began to talk.

"You're so early, Tetsu. Aren't we supposed to meet at 4 p.m.? It's not even 2.30 yet," the tan boy asked, raising his eyebrows.

"You are early yourself, Aomine-kun," the pale boy, who was called Tetsu by the taller, Aomine, pointed out evenly.

"Ah, well… I just wanted to try to play with the other guys first before owning you since you're pretty easy," Aomine smirked.

Tetsu didn't change his expression, but Kagami imagined that the boy was slightly offended by the underestimating tone of his friend. "We will see that later," he said, probably challenging even though his voice was quite calm.

"Umm…" Kagami cleared his throat because he just became invisible there. It earned him the others' attention instantly.

Aomine blinked, "Who?" as he regarded him for the first time.

"Ah," Tetsu seemed noticing that they had been conversing without acknowledging Kagami. "Sorry, um… I have not asked for your name, have I?"

"Indeed. We haven't introduced ourselves at all, huh?" Kagami felt pretty silly that they have chatted about petty things before even knowing each other's name. "Kagami Taiga," he said then, offering his hand in a handshake.

Tetsu shook his hand with his smaller, slenderer and cooler, but surprisingly rather rough hand, a sign that he was a hard worker. "Kuroko Tetsuya," he countered before he pointed at the tan guy beside him. "This is Aomine Daiki, my partner."

Kagami paused slightly at the 'my partner' part. Although there was nothing particularly special in those words or in the bluenet's tone, he somehow detected an impression that the duo was important to each other. Best friends, maybe? Or something more…? Kagami wasn't exactly sure, but he didn't want to dwell too deeply on it.

"Nice to meet you," Kagami shook Aomine's hand as well, greeting him while looking directly at his sharp midnight colored eyes.

"So, who are you?" Aomine asked again pretty curiously, spinning the basketball he brought with him on his index finger after they were done shaking each others' hand.

"Uh…" Kagami wasn't sure of what to say as he scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. "Kagami Taiga?"

"No, I mean _who_ are _you_?" _to Tetsu—_was left unsaid, but his suspicious gaze was clear enough for Kagami to decipher this time.

_Ah… they are an item?_—Kagami's mind supplied the idea immediately and he almost blushed at the rash notion. There was no evidence whatsoever about Kuroko and Aomine's relationship, but why did Kagami think like that the moment he saw the hint of competitiveness in Aomine's eyes and tone?

_At any rate, what are we even competing for?_—Kagami got an urge to bang his head because he felt very self-conscious about his own thought. It was very weird, indeed.

"We met here yesterday," Kuroko answered for Kagami. "When you ditched our supposedly independent practice," he added coolly, almost sarcastically and yet it didn't show in his tone at all, making Aomine wince and drop his ball.

"I'm really sorry, Tetsu. Forgive me already. I already treated you to your favorite vanilla shake at Maji after that, didn't I?" Now it was Aomine that scratched his neck, looking contrite. Kuroko didn't look angry, but he must have been annoyed because he huffed slightly.

"I watched him practice alone yesterday. He looked pretty much enjoying himself with the ball," Kagami supplied, just because he felt that they shouldn't be quarrelling over one broken promise.

"Heeh, that's good then," Aomine looked somehow relieved that Kuroko wasn't too upset after all.

Kuroko narrowed his gaze slightly at Kagami, and Kagami had to look away because he didn't want to see the accusing stare of him siding with Aomine even though he didn't mean it.

"You are forgiven, Aomine-kun," Kuroko said slowly after awhile, and added at the end. "Just because I love basketball so much that I didn't realize the time flying when I played."

"Alright," Aomine grinned, looking content with Kuroko's half-hearted forgiveness. "Hey, since we're here already, let's play now!" He was enthusiastic as he suggested that.

"The court is still being used," Kuroko pointed at the court where the other boys were still at it.

"Ah… huh?" Aomine raised one of his eyebrows slightly, seeming to recognize one of the players. "Well, well, look at that. Isn't that Kiyoshi Teppei from Shōei?" he drawled with a lazy smirk now.

_Shōei?_—Kagami's mind immediately picked up. That was the middle school which he would enter in autumn.

The sound of ball bouncing out of the court and hitting the iron net made the three turned to face the source. There was the tall brunet that greeted Kagami earlier standing, looking at them after picking up the ball again and he seemed to identify Aomine immediately.

"Ah, isn't it Aomine from Teikou?" the brunet waved at them with a smile on his face.

"Uwaah, he looked so friendly as always," Aomine greeted the guy back with a nod despite his reluctant expression.

"Your friend as well?" Kagami asked Kuroko who shook his head silently.

"We crushed his middle school team in national tournament semi final this summer," Aomine said almost sardonically.

"Oh… eh?! You were in national tournament?!" Kagami had just realized that and he gaped, very surprised.

"You didn't know? Didn't you play basketball?" Aomine stared at Kagami incredulously.

"Uh… I do, but I just moved to Japan some time ago, so…" Kagami was still rather speechless. They must have been very good if they were in national tournament.

"Moved to Japan… Kagami-kun came from abroad?" Kuroko looked upward at him, actually looking mildly astonished.

"Ah… um," Kagami nodded cautiously.

"Seriously?! From where?!" now Aomine looked very intrigued.

"Los Angeles, America," Kagami answered.

"Whoah! So cool! Then you've seen the real NBA?! You met the players?!"

This what Kagami hated most, being questioned if he had seen the real NBA players at all or the real NBA match or something similar with a basketball fanatic. Not everyone could acquire the super expensive ticket to watch onsite after all. Besides, Kagami had never gone outside LA as long as he lived there. There was no way he could have seen the real NBA match even though he really wanted to. It was kind of the biggest regret he had, damn it!

"I saw an NBA match from TV like everyone else that couldn't be there on time because the tickets are super costly and no, I haven't met any of them," Kagami grumbled at the reminder of his trampled dream.

"Whaaat? What a waste!" Aomine exclaimed, looking very disappointed.

"Tell me about it," Kagami sulked slightly.

"But, if Kagami-kun played basketball in America before, you must be very good at it," Kuroko said, for some reason looking rather hopeful. Kagami didn't know what it was and he didn't have time to ponder about it because Aomine's hand was on his shoulder now.

"Tetsu is right!" and the tan boy looked peculiarly ecstatic. "Hey, why don't we do a one-on-one match right now? Let's see how good you are!"

_Crap!—_Kagami was sweating slightly. It wasn't like he wanted to say no, but with his leg condition, he doubted he could even shoot normally, much less answering the excited challenge for one-on-one from Aomine.

"Kagami-kun?" Apparently, Kuroko noticed his hesitation, but Kagami was saved from saying anything as another call from the brunet, Kiyoshi, distracted them.

"Hey guys! Why don't you play against us this time? Three on three?" Kiyoshi kept smiling nicely and innocently and Aomine was visibly cornered.

"I'm never good dealing with that kind of guy," the tan boy sighed.

"But, despite their defeat at that time, Kiyoshi-san was the only one who didn't give up until the end," somehow, Kuroko looked very serene as he spoke.

Aomine gave the unsuspecting taller brunet a rueful smile. "I don't dislike him at all, Tetsu," he said slowly after that raising his hand at Kiyoshi. "We'll be there to crush you again!" he smirked.

"Ah, don't just agreeing without my consent," Kagami complained. He didn't even know that guy, but seriously, in basketball game they didn't even need to know each others' names to play it.

"What is it? American returnee gets cold feet in answering a challenge?" Aomine turned to face Kagami with a mocking sneer.

Kagami was offended. "Let's see how far you can keep speaking like that," he hissed in the heat of the moment and immediately regretted it when he accepted the ball from Aomine.

_Shit!_

Now there was no turning back. But his leg…!

"Ooh? You finally want to join us?" Kiyoshi smiled at Kagami as he, Aomine and Kuroko entered the court.

Kagami sweated some more. "How about your game?" he shifted his gaze to the other boys.

"We're gonna take a break," they said while whispering and glancing warily at Aomine's direction. Kagami raised his eyebrows at this, wondering. That was a weird. Aomine just stretched coolly, pretty much ignoring them as Kiyoshi spoke again to Kagami, distracting him.

"So, it's two on two?"

"Eh?" Kagami was still holding the ball, not knowing what to do or to say because the situation spiraled out of his control. Damn his stupid temper.

"Two on one," Aomine's answered for him, his gaze turning predatory. "You won't be able to stop me even with two people," he said conceitedly.

"Haah?" Kagami was pissed off now.

_What's with this guy? How come he can underestimate people so blatantly like that?_

"Ahaha, you're so confident as always, Aomine," Kiyoshi didn't seem to feel snubbed with the way he laugh.

"Do your best, Kiyoshi-san, Kagami-kun," Kuroko cheered flatly from the court-side.

"Tetsu! Why are you cheering for them?!" Aomine protested.

"That is obvious, right? I want them to defeat you," Kuroko said impassively, but Kagami picked something in his voice, something grave and serious.

"Ha, in your dream!" Aomine bent in a stance. "Come here!"

Kagami was still holding the ball in silence. He knew he couldn't back down now, but taking a risk to damage his leg permanently was out of question as well, so he passed the ball to Kiyoshi to Aomine's look of surprise.

"Oi!" Aomine growled at him.

"I don't have any reason to challenge you," Kagami said, "but you have, don't you?" he turned around to Kiyoshi who blinked once in perplexity before it seemed to dawn on him and he smiled again.

"Yes," Kiyoshi dribbled the ball. "Let's have fun~," then Kiyoshi charged Aomine.

"Che," Aomine glared at Kagami before he rushed to stop Kiyoshi.

Kagami sighed before he walked out of the court.

"Why did you back out?" Kuroko asked as he sat down beside the smaller boy.

"I don't think I can fight him at this moment," Kagami answered slowly. "I'll only disappoint him."

Kuroko looked upward at him with slightly widened eyes. "How…?" he seemed very surprised.

Kagami chuckled. "That guy… he's similar to me, somehow," Kagami scratched his cheek sheepishly. "Despite his overbearing attitude, I just thought that maybe… maybe he needs a rival that can fight him equally."

Kuroko seemed amazed as Kagami turned away not wanting to feel strange again in front of Kuroko's big, deep curious aquamarine orbs. He focused on the game between Aomine and Kiyoshi instead.

Kagami was astonished and fascinated as he saw Aomine's movements. He wasn't just talking and boasting. He was incredible. It was almost pitiful that the game was kind of one-sided, but Kiyoshi didn't seem to yield down at all despite the losing battle.

Kiyoshi was able to steal some scores at least, but unlike Aomine who struck without mercy like a hound hunting its prey, Kiyoshi played more for the fun side. It was amazing, those guys. Kagami itched to play as well watching the game.

At the end of it, Kiyoshi's score was doubled by Aomine. "That was a fun game," Kiyoshi said, offering his handshake while panting.

"I can never understand why you can still smile like that after that crushing defeat," Aomine frowned as he spun the ball again on his index finger, breathing rather quickly himself.

"Eeh, but it's fun," Kiyoshi's smile widened a fraction. "That summer championship was the last official game I participated in, and I don't know when I'll have a rematch with the Generation of Miracle team, so… thanks for playing with me today, Aomine," he said sincerely then and Aomine looked somewhat embarrassed.

_Generation of… Miracle?_

The tan teen muttered something under his breath and kept silent as Kiyoshi gave up shaking his hand and turned around to leave.

"It would be better if this was with Murasakibara, right?"

_Murasakibara?_

Kiyoshi's step faltered a bit, but he just turned around and grinned. "I'll save that for high school revenge!" and then he ran out of the court.

Kagami noticed Kiyoshi's eyes when he ran past him and Kuroko. It was faint, but there were tears in them.

Kagami knew that there was something much more in their hushed conversation earlier, judging from the tense silence, but he didn't dare to ask what it was. He wasn't fond of feeling like intruding after all. Moreover, before he could consider more about some names that were mentioned earlier, an orange ball flied to his direction.

"Kagami-kun!"

Kuroko's alerting voice was heard and Kagami raised his hand in time to catch the ball before it connected to the side of his face. Kagami turned around in growing irritation to face the smirk on Aomine's face. "Your turn," he said superciliously.

Kagami stood slowly.

"Kagami-kun?" Kuroko called, still toneless but there was a hint of concern in his eyes.

"I can't play with you right now," Kagami said while looking straightly at Aomine's eyes.

"Haah?" Aomine made a face at him. "What are you talking about? Are you scared of losing or something?" he scoffed, but this time Kagami didn't take the bait.

"I guess I'll just have to show you," Kagami felt slightly unwilling, but it was better than hiding it and disappointing his potential rival. He kept the ball between his right arm and his waist while his left hand slowly lifted the long baggy pant on his left leg.

Aomine actually gasped and Kuroko widened his eyes again at the view of white bandages covering his left legs from over his mid thigh until bellow the mid of his calf. "I'm in recovery, that's why I can't play basketball at this moment. It's the only reason I'm in Japan as well, to make me stay away from basketball for the time being until it heals completely."

Kagami tried to explain with stony voice, but the look of horror on Aomine's face and the shock on Kuroko's almost made him falter. He huffed and let his pant fall down again, concealing the proof of his wounds. "It's a rain-check, Aomine. I'll own you after I can come back to court," he threw the ball at Aomine who caught it in a start, breaking out of his disbelieving trance.

"You—!"

"Kagami-kun…"

Kagami turned to face Kuroko who looked at his crimson eyes deeply. "I will enter Shōei next autumn. See you guys at the match in winter," he gave the two boys a peace sign and a big grin afterwards, completely confident that he would be healed completely by that time and he would be able to fulfill this promise.

**End of Chapter 2**

**Tbc...**

* * *

**A/N: **What is this? #shot. Yes, it leans more into friendship now, instead of romance, but it will come eventually. After all, Kagami hasn't yet watched Kuroko in action despite the already tingling feeling in his heart when he saw Kuroko smiles *grins* It will be like a cupid arrow when he sees later *loool* Anyway, need feedback as always. Because readers feedbacks are my source of inspiration!


	3. The Generation of Miracle

**A/N: **Sorry for the wait. Thanks for reviewing, faving and alerting this story. Now up to chapter 3. ENJOY!

**Disclaimer and Warning: **_**See chapter 1**_

* * *

**Chapter 3: **_**The Generation of Miracle**_

* * *

"Ugh… I thought I would do better in the test…"

Kagami banged his forehead lightly on the teacher's office door, feeling extremely worn out because he had to (try very hard to) speak politely to the middle aged men and women, presumably his soon to be teachers, who in turn gave him the interview.

Then there was the written test that Kagami didn't want to think about. He believed he had answered as much as he could, but a lot of the Kanjis still looked like curse-letters for him. Where was the English language? Kagami couldn't believe he missed English very much (and he even wasn't particularly good at it too, except for the conversation).

"Ah… I just hope that it's enough for me to enroll here, though…"

Kagami decided to just resign to fate. After all he had given his all in the test. Now, he should just go home and relax.

Shōei was quite big for a middle school. Kagami was impressed with the buildings and the wide yard. It even had personal field for track and soccer. Kagami also had a glimpse of the gym. It was very big as well, and there were two of them.

Well, the school ground was pretty much still empty because the new semester wouldn't start until three more days. Though, Kagami couldn't wait because he had heard that Shōei middle's basketball team was quite famous and impressive. He would like to see them play!

Now, Kagami was walking down the nearest station from his new school. He caught a billboard that showed a young model, probably at the same age as Kagami with sparkling blond hair and cheery warm honey colored orbs under long golden eyelashes. For a guy, that model was very pretty. No wonder the girls were squealing at his picture (seriously, WTF?).

Kagami only spared a fleeting glance at the picture as he shook his head at those teenage girls' antics, and continued to buy a train ticket. He would stop at Majiba on the way to have lunch before going home…

_Ah—_suddenly, Kagami remembered that particular street ball court. _Maybe I'll stop by that place as well…._

Kagami hadn't visited that place in almost a week. The last time was when he met Kuroko and Aomine there. Yamamoto found out that he snuck out to play outside despite already being told not to and the old man was very displeased that Kagami was grounded for a week (by his parents, since Yamamoto had such a big mouth).

_That old man even increased my workload in studying. Thanks to him I was sleep-depraved for five days. I swear he is a Satan's incarnation, that man_—Kagami groaned slightly as he remembered the hellish days before he took his exam this morning.

Arriving to his destination, Kagami got down from the train and went to Majiba to order a take out from the restaurant. He was feeling particularly hungry today, so he ordered ten pieces of cheese burger (to the shock of the other customers and the lady that took his order) and a huge glass of cola to go. He would stop by the court and eat there while watching the game if there was any.

A few minutes later, Kagami paid for the foods and drink and brought them out. He ate one burger while walking to the court. It wasn't that far from his home anyway.

Though, Kagami was rather disappointed when he found the court empty. "Ah, no one play here today, huh?"

Kagami was about to turn around, but a thumping sound of the ring stole his attention before he could. He focused his gaze on the ring and blinked as he caught a sight of the ball falling to the ground and bouncing. "Huh?"

"So you came."

Kagami shrieked in shock as a pair of sky-blue eyes suddenly appeared behind the iron net, almost making him drop his foods and drink. "Seriously, STOP doing that, you… Kuroko!" he was panting as he clutched at his hammering chest. He thought he got a heart attack just then.

"I see you have not gotten used to it," Kuroko put his palm over his mouth, his eyes glinting in amusement.

"I'm beginning to think that you're doing that on purpose. You're having fun surprising people, aren't you?" Kagami narrowed his eyes, rather accusing.

Kuroko was silent at that, but the corner of his mouth twitched upward slightly, so Kagami knew that he hit a bull's eye.

"It has been nearly a week," Kuroko said as Kagami went inside the court area and sat on the bench at the courtside while Kuroko was retrieving his ball.

"Ah… yeah, wait. How do you—? You've been here every day since the last time we met?" Kagami looked upward in surprise as he put down the plastic bag filled with burgers.

"It is enjoyable, playing and practicing here," Kuroko said as he performed a stance of shooting and shot. The ball hit the rim and bounced back.

Kagami couldn't help snorting at that and Kuroko gave him a dirty look. "Sorry, try again." He coughed once and urged.

Kuroko did, but just like the first. It didn't go in. He repeated again.

It bounced on the board now.

Once again.

No good either as it went completely off the course.

…

Kuroko tried several times more, and yet it never went in.

…

_That… that's impossible… even if he sucks at shooting, with the amount of trial he had performed, there should have been at least one or two balls that went inside the ring! This… this is…_

"A miracle," Kagami didn't realize that he mumbled the last one out loud, as Kuroko's face colored slightly.

"Shut up, please." The blue haired boy muttered lowly, hugging the ball, his face still in rosy color despite the slight annoyance in his narrowed eyes.

Kagami slapped his mouth shut and suddenly it was awkward. "Uh… either… it's because you are so lame at it or you're purposely missing?" he didn't know why he asked then, insensitive indeed, but he was just wondering.

"It has always been this way," Kuroko said, dribbling the ball now, not looking at Kagami's face.

"What do you mean?" Kagami scrunched up his face, confused.

"My shot never goes in." Kuroko admitted.

…

…

"Not even once?" Kagami still thought that it was impossible.

"Not even once." Kuroko nodded possitively.

"But statistically, that's…"

"Improbable? But it is the truth. No matter how hard I try, it never goes in. Even after spending time observing people doing it and trying to imitate it, the ball just won't go inside the ring," Kuroko explained. "So maybe it is a form of a miracle, indeed."

Kagami was speechless for awhile digesting the unlikely information, but then he remembered Aomine. "But, you're partners with Aomine…"

Kuroko's expression softened slightly at that. "Strange, huh?"

"Well, then how do you guys usually play if you don't shoot the ball?" Kagami was very puzzled.

"My strength lays in different area," Kuroko answered cryptically and Kagami got even more mystified. Kuroko apparently noticed his bafflement as he looked at Kagami's eyes and gave him that wonderful micro smile again which caused Kagami's heart to skip a beat. "You will know when you see my play in an actual game."

Kagami was thunderstruck seeing Kuroko's almost ethereal form. He got a sudden urge to rub his eyelids, in case his eyes were playing trick on him. There was also a soft breeze of late summer wind spinning in the court afterwards, surrounding them, and the magical moment was gone as soon as Kagami blinked.

Kuroko had been dribbling the orange ball again, looking at the ring, and then jumped to shoot. The trajectory was fine. The stance of his legs, his body balance and the form of his elbows were also perfect, and yet… the ball hit the rim once again, bouncing out of the ring.

Kagami narrowed his eyes slightly in concentration, not noticing anything weird that could cause the shot to miss. Maybe if he looked more closely…

"Do you want a help with that?"

Kuroko stopped mid-shooting and turned around at Kagami's unexpected offer. "Eh?"

"Shooting. Maybe I can help you," Kagami smiled slightly.

"But… your leg…?" Kuroko's gaze shifted hesitantly at Kagami's injured leg.

"Ah? It's okay as long as I don't jump," then Kagami grinned. Honestly, he just wanted to shoot the ball in as well, and if he could help Kuroko with it, it would be a bonus.

"If… you do not mind, then…" Kuroko seemed intrigued.

"Awesome!"

Kagami immediately stood, wincing slightly for forgetting that his left leg couldn't yet hold a sudden weight, so he lifted it slightly to ease the tingle of pain. He walked more carefully then, approaching Kuroko on the free-throw area.

"Alright, stand right here," Kagami instructed Kuroko, who was still holding the ball, to stand in front of him. Kuroko did and Kagami reached the ball in Kuroko's hands from behind, his palms enveloping Kuroko's back-hands as he brought the ball up.

"Like this…" Kagami knew he was rather self-conscious with how close their bodies were to each others', since Kuroko's smaller and slenderer back plus the outer of his shoulders and arms were flushed against Kagami's chest and his inner arms. He couldn't help noticing the difference in temperature between their bodies, since Kuroko was warmer courtesy of being longer moving around under the sun.

"Like this?" Kuroko shifted, accommodating to fit Kagami's height and form better before he tilted his head aside slightly to look at Kagami.

"Yes, like that," for some reason, Kagami lowered his voice, and yet he didn't know why. Kuroko's hair smelled like vanilla. It was a very soft and delicious fragrance that Kagami had to shook his head slightly to clear his almost cloudy mind to focus on the ball instead of how good it was to be so close to the shorter teen.

Then, Kagami noticed the way Kuroko's right wrist bent and frowned. "You've got to relax this part," he said, smoothing over Kuroko's wrist and caressing the inner part with his fingers, causing Kuroko's body to shiver slightly. "It's okay, straighten it a bit," Kagami didn't know what was happening, but this might become dangerous soon so he should hurry.

Kuroko was silent as he followed Kagami's lead and when Kagami deemed that it was okay enough to do the actual shooting, he whispered. "Now jump."

Kuroko did and Kagami's bigger hands steadied Kuroko's wrist as he flicked it and released the ball from his own hands. The ball made a loop in the air until it went into the ring, making a smooth swishing sound, before it fell and bounced on the ground.

Kuroko widened his eyes, actually looking astonished while Kagami was grinning and whooping. "There you go!" He smiled joyfully at Kuroko and the bluenet seemed still amazed that he couldn't say anything until a few more seconds passed.

Though, when a happy, smile bloomed on Kuroko's usually dull expression while he faced Kagami a moment later, Kagami instantly thought that he had been blessed with a gift from heaven because seriously, Kuroko looked extra beautiful like that. "Thank you, Kagami-kun," he said gratefully, looking absolutely graceful and delighted.

_Such a pretty blissful smile is cheating, damn it!_—Kagami got the urge to thank him instead of accepting the gratitude, because of Kuroko's smile was more wonderful and powerful than what he did for Kuroko.

"I-it's nothing…" Great, now Kagami stuttered. How embarrassing!

Kagami wanted to avert his eyes from Kuroko's _dangerous_ idyllic smile, but he just couldn't because… because it was just so enchanting! He could feel his face warm up more than usual. He prayed that it was because of the late summer heat, and not because he was blushing.

"N-now you can try to shoot by yourself," Kagami robotically turned around and walked back to the bench, his heart still thudding erratically, and his face still heating that it felt like a heater now. Seriously, what was wrong with him?!

Though, while Kagami was trying to stuff his face with his burger he had bought earlier (because he was still hungry and mostly to hide his embarrassment), Kuroko tried to shoot the ball in by himself again, and it missed, much to Kagami's disbelief and Kuroko's slight chagrin.

* * *

**~Kagami x Kuroko~**

* * *

"It is a miracle," Kagami commented, still in wonder, when he and Kuroko were on the way to Maji Burger.

"I am beginning to think that that is the case," Kuroko simply deadpanned.

"Well, at least one of your shots went in," Kagami shrugged easily.

"With your help, thank you very much, by the way. I owe you one for that," Kuroko gave him a faint smile, still looking in a pretty good mood if Kagami knew better.

"It was just one shot. Wait until you can do more. I believe if you keep practicing, you'll be good at it in no time," Kagami encouraged.

Kuroko didn't say anything to that.

"Maybe I can help you with it too," Kagami carried on, not noticing that the boy beside him made a rather solemn look. Well, at least until Kagami mentioned, "Can't wait to facing you and your team at a formal game."

Kuroko looked upward slightly as Kagami glanced at him. He seemed about to say something, but he just opened his mouth and closed it again without saying anything. "What?" Kagami raised his eyebrows.

Kuroko shook his head. "No, nothing…"

"What is it? You got me curious now," Kagami pried.

"Well… Kagami-kun went to Shōei, right?" Kuroko asked rather tentatively.

"Uhuh. Just took the test this morning. It was hell," Kagami grunted in displeasure again as he recalled.

"Well, after Kagami-kun join their basketball club, it will be impossible for us to meet and practice together, at least, not without alerting our respective clubs," Kuroko said slowly.

"Why?" Kagami tilted his head aside.

"Both Shōei and Teikou are famous for their basketball teams, if the press catches up with this kind of meeting, it can raise a rumor about leaking secret information between our schools. It can end very badly… especially since Akashi-kun is in for its politic," Kuroko explained tonelessly, but there was a hint of worry in his dull sky blue eyes.

"Hmm…" Kagami didn't understand why it would be such a bad thing. After all, more information, more challenging the game could be. "Well, as long as we don't talk about our teams, than it's alright, right?" the solution was quite easy for Kagami though, and he didn't want to give up meeting up with Kuroko for just that reason.

After all, Kuroko was Kagami's first friend after he came back to Japan.

Kuroko blinked once at that before he chuckled lightly.

"What?" Kagami asked, rather indignant for being laughed at. He didn't say something stupid, did he?

"Kagami-kun is a very positive person, huh?" Kuroko stated, his eyes alight in an amused glint.

"Is that supposed to be a strange thing?" Kagami asked, his cheeks warming up again seeing Kuroko's cute face, and that smile really hooked him up, seriously.

"No, but I like that," Kuroko admitted and the temperature around seemed to increase several degrees after that, causing Kagami to flush.

"Y-you… that's very embarrassing…!" Kagami stammered slightly and had to look away from Kuroko or his face would get even redder because the blush just wouldn't tone down.

_How can he say such embarrassing thing without breaking a sweat?!_

This was very odd. Kagami felt strange around this blue haired boy that he just met some days ago. And they only had met three times, yet… why did Kuroko stir so many feelings inside Kagami? Was it normal, feeling this way about someone? A… a barely made friend, a boy to boot?

"Kagami-kun?"

Kagami snapped out of his befuddled musing. "W-what?!"

Kuroko blinked. "You do not have to shout. I just wanted to inform that we are here."

"Huh?" Kagami looked aside. "Oh," they were in front of Majiba already. "S-sorry, I guess I spaced out…" He couldn't help covering his still slightly colored face. "Let's get inside. I believe you have to eat more so you can get taller and better at playing basketball." He said earnestly afterwards just to hide his awkwardness again.

Kuroko elbowed him lightly on the arm in retaliation. "Please shut up."

Apparently, Kuroko was sensitive about his height, much to Kagami's newly found amusement in teasing him about it.

* * *

**~Kagami x Kuroko~**

* * *

"What is Generation of Miracle?" Kagami asked after Kuroko and he were seated comfortably at the table near the window inside Majiba, Kagami drinking his coke (since he already ate ten burgers earlier) and Kuroko drinking vanilla milkshake.

A half eaten burger was on a plate in front of Kuroko, obviously because Kagami insisted ordering food for his smaller friend. He even went as far as paying for the food because seriously, Kuroko was too thin and small for a middle school kid. He really should consume more food to boost his growth period.

"It's my team," Kuroko answered mechanically.

Kagami frowned slightly when the light-blue haired boy didn't elaborate further. "Are they good?" he asked further.

"They are a bunch of young athletic geniuses, grouped together to make an ultimate team in basketball circle. There are five of them and they are truly, very strong as individual players, but as a team, they are unbeatable," Kuroko recited. "At least, that is what was written in basketball magazine that reviewed their play."

"Heeh…" Kagami was rather skeptical, but there was something that bugged him more than that. "You keep referring the GoM as 'they', but aren't you one of them too?"

Kuroko went silent at that for a moment before he shrugged. "I am different."

Kagami raised his eyebrows. "You said that as well before. Exactly what did that even mean?"

"You saw how lacking I am in shooting ability, right?"

Kagami nodded at that.

"That is not all. My skill in dribbling the ball is below average as well. I cannot do any drive. My speed is so-so. I do not even have enough stamina to go full 40 minutes game. You can even say that I am worse than an amateur," Kuroko explained while Kagami's frown deepened considerably as he was getting confused.

Kuroko seemed to notice that Kagami wanted to say something, but he didn't let him as he continued. "What I am good at is passing and being completely invisible on court."

Strangely, Kuroko smiled at this to Kagami's puzzlement. "Passing and… being invisible?" He really didn't understand what Kuroko said.

"It is hard to explain, so I will not try. You will understand if you see, but… that is if you can see me," Kuroko looked at Kagami's eyes inexplicably, piquing Kagami's curiosity much-much more.

"Huh?"

"Because I am… a phantom," Kuroko's eye glinted slightly and Kagami felt a slight chill from the way Kuroko looked intently at his eyes, boring so deeply he thought his mind was being drilled open with that gaze.

"You are… being exceptionally mysterious. You must be messing with me," Kagami said, still doubtful, as Kuroko just gave him a level stare.

"I do not joke," Kuroko said as he closed his eyes. "But I cannot reveal more of my secrets to you. I believe you knowing a lot of my weaknesses in one go already broke many rules. I will wish for you to keep quiet about it, but even if you leak it to your teammates, it will not change a thing."

"Wha-…?" Kagami gaped lightly.

"My existence in Teikou is not that crucial. Even without me, the GoM are already too powerful to fight, and they are still growing. They are… exceptional. Having a place around them, inside their circle is a blessing for someone like me. As long as they keep winning then, I do not mind becoming their shadow, to ensure _our_ victory in every match."

Kuroko looked very determined as he spoke. There was that glowing aura around him that gave Kagami a hint that those people, _GoM_, was people who Kuroko treasured and looked up to very much. They got such unconditional admiration from a boy like Kuroko, so they must have been amazingly powerful and great.

Kagami's heart beat harder for a second, so hard such that he thought he might have felt a slight pain, but it was a kind of _good _pain that set fire of spirit within his heart. He wanted to see those marvelous guys on court too. If there really was such wonderful team in Japan, then… Kagami wanted to meet them.

"I think I want to see," Kagami grinned, getting worked up. "Will you guys play soon? I'd like to watch your and their play in a serious game. It must be incredible if you don't exaggerate your story."

"Ah, I must apologize. Teikou's first stringers do not do any practice match outside our school," Kuroko bowed slightly.

"Eh? Why?!" Kagami was surprised. He thought a team in such caliber would do practice match periodically.

"Because… if our first stringers play in a practice match, it will not be a practice match anymore. It will be… a total annihilation."

Kagami felt another chill again, this time from the seriousness in Kuroko's tone. He instantly knew that Kuroko was telling the truth, because there was no uncertainty at all in his voice.

"I see…" A bead of sweat trickled down Kagami's face. "It interests me even more…. Then I can't wait to seeing the GoM play in formal match. It will be at winter, huh?"

"That is right, but… if you are okay with seeing only my play and one of the GoM, along with the second string of Teikou basketball team practice match, you can," Kuroko offered.

"Really?" Kagami beamed happily. He didn't think he could watch their play anytime soon, but if he could… "That would be AWESOME!"

"Yes," Kuroko nodded. "Right after we finish the summer vacation, at the first Sunday we have a practice match scheduled at Fukuda Shōgō High. You can come and watch then."

"Fukuda Shōgō High? As in… a high school team?" Kagami widened his eyes, hugely impressed.

"Yes, Teikou has policies that ban us to practice with weaker team, but since we are already the strongest amongst the other middle schools in Tokyo, we do not have any other choice but to rely on the high school team to give us the challenge," Kuroko explained. "Although… that is more of our captain's policies rather than our school, but it provides the best result in boosting our experience, so…"

_Kuroko is very passionate when he is talking about his team and basketball—_Kagami silently noted. Well, he and Kuroko were compatible then. Talking about something they loved would get them worked up. Kagami honestly thought that he and Kuroko would get along so well starting from now.

"Kagami-kun?"

Kagami was brought back from his reverie by the questioning voice and look Kuroko had thrown him.

"Oh, sorry, I was just… too stunned, I guess, that such remarkable basketball team exists in Japan," Kagami scratched his cheek.

"Well… the GoM are special. They are… prodigies that were born with raw talent to become the best. Rumor said such talents were only born once every ten years," Kuroko shrugged.

"Yet there are five of them… gathering in one school," Kagami felt that such coincidence was ironic.

"I think it is fate," Kuroko's expression softened once again. That fond look on his face was very distracting.

"Uh… right, anyway," Kagami shook his head to chase out the imaginary flowers that seemed to bloom around Kuroko's gentle and lovely face, "-where is this Fukuda Shōgō High? I will surely come to watch your play."

Yep. Kagami was determined, alright. Kuroko gave him a small smile before he reached out Kagami's hand with his smaller one.

Kagami's heart skipped a bit as Kuroko's slightly rough (and yet still incredibly slender) palm brushed against his own and his heartbeat increased the pace as the teal haired boy pulled that hand closer to his chest. Kagami almost considering exploding in total excitement and _or_ embarrassment on his spot, but Kuroko was actually only trying to give him a piece of paper that he retrieved from his pants pocket with his free hand.

Kagami's heart was still beating like crazy even after Kuroko released his hand leaving a square white card with some letters on it on Kagami's palm. "That is the address of the school. You can ask the information of the train station of how to go there if you use train. Or, if you go by taxi, just give that address to the driver. He will straightly bring you there." Kuroko assured.

"Taxi… exactly how loaded do you think a middle schooler like me?" Kagami tried to silently calm his fast, irregular thudding of his heart by patronizing Kuroko' suggestion, but it was rather difficult (and absolutely futile) because his body felt so hot and damn it! He must have been blushing again because his face felt like a boiler now!

And yet Kuroko didn't seem to notice Kagami's predicament and just ignored his lame attempt at staying composed. "I will be waiting then," he said instead, looking indistinctly keyed up for some reason.

_Well… at least I will be able to see him in a real play…—_once again, Kagami tried to calm his pounding chest by slowly taking a deep breath before exhaling it bit by bit.

"Can't wait to see your basketball, Kuroko," Kagami sealed the promise with a sure smile then.

**End of Chapter 3**

**Tbc…**

* * *

**A/N: **Uh… for some reason there's only KagaKuro interaction in this chapter, but I didn't regret a single thing I had written up. I just love making their moment! *in love with KagaKuro forever~333*

A-anyway, I hope you enjoy this –absolutely no progress of plot- chapter. The real progress will come out in next chapter (I hope). Well, I should remind you that this is a heavy romance story (originally) before I put too much friendship in it, so you can expect some romance and a little bit angst in here as well (a LOTS of drama *shudder* sheesh, teenagers…). As for the basketball match, you probably have noticed that I'm not exactly good at writing sport game or fighting scenes, so… don't hope too much in that part. There will be the match that gets Kagami hooked to Kuroko's play, but… let's save that for the next chapter, shall we? I'll stop babbling now.

So, what do you think of this chapter? I hope it's not too boring. Review? *super cute puppy eyes*


	4. The Phantom Player

**Disclaimer and Warning: _See chapter 1!_**

**A/N: **Phew! I LOVE my boss! XD You guys know that I should be on hiatus at least for two weeks, right? Since I had to focus (meaning working overtime) on my work because the company was on a crisis. Turns out boss called some people from the branch company to help us with our work! XD Yes! All of them are extremely capable and AWW! I just love them all! I could kiss them for being so helpful! The crisis is OUT of the way, and we have extra time to check and re-check all the works! I even have time to write this chapter and update TODAY! Yay! XDDD

Sorry, I'm just so happy that team work always solves matters really fast! Indeed, with everyone around, problems that seem to be very dire and urgent can be resolved smoothly. Aaah! It sounds like basketball game, right? *grins* I'm glad I have so many people that can rely on at times like this.

Anyway, because I'm in an extremely good mood today (send all hugs and thanks for you, my co-workers! I LOVE YOU ALL! And of course to the readers that are still with me and this story) please ENJOY the new chapter of this story!

* * *

**Chapter 4: **_**The Phantom Player**_

* * *

Kagami's transfer ran smoothly without a glitch.

Well, there was a disaster called the introduction of the transfer student, which raised quite a reaction from Kagami's new classmates because of the fact that he had just returned from America, added by his slightly intimidating badass appearance, red hair and all… _That_ actually prompted the disciplinary committee to scold him for _coloring his hair_ even though it was his natural hair color.

Kagami was instantly branded as a delinquent (according to the spreading rumor), no matter how much he tried to explain that he wasn't like what he looked like (obviously because Shōei was quite prestigious and the people inside, students and teachers alike, were quite stereotyping).

Luckily, Kagami didn't attract other delinquents because he might have given an impression that he didn't understand what they were saying, _or_ maybe he really didn't understand because the way they talked was… strange. Kagami wasn't used to the Japanese slang language (gangster language?), so he cursed them back with English language if he caught one or two of their insult thrown his way.

All in all, Kagami was relatively safe to be left alone, at least until he snooped around the basketball club.

The manager squeaked in alarm when he greeted her. _Shit._

"I only want to ask if I can join basketball club." Kagami explained, rather dreading, as the other members instantly crowded him, apparently getting antsy and fussy as they accused Kagami for troubling their cute manager.

_Alright, what the hell!?_—Kagami even wasn't interested in her! He hadn't known her after all!

"Guys, back to practice, please?" A pleasant voice saved Kagami from being bombarded by questions from the curious slash wary members of Shōei's basketball club.

"Kiyoshi-senpai!" some members addressed the third year with surprised looks as they instantly made a way for the tall brunet to approach Kagami. Luck was on Kagami's side since he seemed to recognize the American returnee right away.

"He's alright. Now, go back to practice, unless you want Coach to double your regimen," Kiyoshi reminded his juniors with a mischievous smile and the others immediately squawked with '_eeep!' _before they scrambled away to do their designed practice menu.

"Hey," Kiyoshi smiled at Kagami as the red head nodded at the older boy.

"Ah… we met again," Kagami replied lamely, feeling awkward so suddenly. Kiyoshi chuckled at that.

"No need to be so stiff. Kagami, is it? I heard some sophomores gossiping about a scary new transfer student joining their class. They said you came from America?" Kiyoshi started while steering Kagami to come inside the gym and sit at one of the bleachers around the court.

"Yeah… I mean _yes_, more or less," Kagami stumbled over his words, trying to sound polite even though he really wasn't used to it. Somehow, he was reminded of Kuroko with his very polite speech and suddenly felt rather self conscious afterwards. Did all middle school guys talk like Kuroko? But, Aomine's language was pretty rude, though.

Kiyoshi's grin widened slightly. "Formal language doesn't suit you," he commented and Kagami's face faulted.

"I've been told so many times…" he couldn't help muttering in reaction.

"Then it's alright to speak more informally. I'm Kiyoshi Teppei, by the way, captain of Shōei's basketball club," thus the older brunet proceeded to introduce himself.

"So I've heard. I'm Kagami Taiga, the new transfer student in class 2E." Kagami nodded slightly as Kiyoshi offered his hand in a handshake. They blinked once before they looked up at each other and huffed out a slight laugh at the clash of culture.

"I thought Americans use handshake to greet new acquaintance," Kiyoshi was still laughing as he remarked.

"They do. But I had been here for seven years before moving there, so when I moved back here, I quickly adapted to the old ways," Kagami grinned back, quite amused and quickly feeling relaxed in Kiyoshi's proximity with his friendly attitude and acceptance that Kagami might be slightly different because of the disparity of American and Japanese culture.

Kagami always wondered if it would cause trouble at some point, those differences, but apparently, he didn't have to worry about that with Kiyoshi.

"Alright then, so what can I do for you?" Kiyoshi asked after calming down a bit.

"Um… I actually want to join this basketball club," Kagami uttered sheepishly.

"Wow, that's great! We can use some skill, especially if you learn basketball from the root country, and with that height of yours, you may become regular in no time," Kiyoshi beamed, looking excited.

"Ah, but there are some conditions I need you and the coach to know before you rise your hope too much," Kagami immediately intervened.

"Condition?" Kiyoshi's ears perked slightly as Kagami nodded.

"Actually…"

Kagami explained about what happened to his left leg and the fact that he wouldn't be able to join practice most of the time in the first few months until he was completely healed and got a green light by his doctor to play basketball again.

Kiyoshi heard him diligently and then nodded in understanding, right after Kagami finished the story. "Understood. I will talk to the coach and see what I can do. In the mean time, you're welcome to watch our practice."

Kiyoshi patted Kagami's shoulder once before he stood and left to do his own share of practice, while directing some of his juniors or observing some first years' basic training.

"Thank you, senpai," Kagami was grateful that he could at least watch their practice even though he wouldn't be playing on court. He had to remind himself several times that he needed to be patient. He would be alright. Just a few more weeks and he surely would be able to join basketball practice with the others.

* * *

**~Kagami x Kuroko~**

* * *

Kagami was giddy. Today was Sunday and the day when he would see Kuroko play in the match for the first time, even though it was just a practice match.

Kuroko said that one of the GoM members aside himself would tag along as well. Kagami wondered who that might be. Would it be Aomine? Or the others? He'd really like to see them all in action, but being greedy was never good for anyone, so one at a time would suffice… _for now_.

_Second string of Teikou's basketball club, huh?—_Kagami noted.

Teikou Middle School… that name was very famous, not only for its basketball club, but also for the other sports clubs, the integrity of its elite students and of course, its high status in society. Some best people came from that middle school. They were considered the top private middle school in Tokyo, even better than Shōei, with the smartest bookworms packed inside.

Kagami could understand why he wasn't transferred to Teikou. He needed his brain to work at its fullest to go in there, while he was already struggling to enter Shōei. Kagami was rather grateful that his parents didn't really expect him to excel in his study as well as in his sport.

Though, even right at this moment, he couldn't really show how brilliant he was in his basketball, because of his injury… Kagami wondered if there was any idea, no matter how slight it was, inside his parents head that Kagami might not be able to play basketball again.

Kagami shuddered and quickly shook his head to chase out the horrible depressing thought. There was just no way would Kagami quit. Kagami loved basketball too much to give it up. No matter how long it would take, he would go back on court. He would… because there was a rematch he had to do to fix things with Tatsuya. There were a _lot_ of things he wanted to do with basketball.

Kagami snapped out of his reverie as the train stopped and the computerized lady's voice announced that he had arrived at his destination. He stood and got off at that station and went to ask direction to Fukuda Shōgō High from the nearest information center.

* * *

**~Kagami xKuroko~**

* * *

Arriving at the high school premise, Kagami immediately asked the school guard about where he should go if he wanted to watch the practice match between Teikou Middle and Fukuda Shōgō High. Apparently, the guard was very friendly and considerate enough because he escorted Kagami to the school gym.

When he entered the gym and went up to the bleachers, he scanned around the court to find Kuroko. Teikou Middle second stringers were at the right side of the court, while Fukuda Shōgō High players were at the left. He noticed a middle aged man on both sides, presumably their coaches, but he couldn't find Kuroko on Teikou Middle bench.

_Huh?_—Kagami rubbed at his eyelids to sharpen his eyes, because he knew he wouldn't be able to _see_ Kuroko at first glance. As expected, when he scrutinized the Teikou Middle bench once again, he finally saw Kuroko's mop of teal colored hair sitting at the far corner.

Kagami smiled. Kuroko looked as short and deadpanned as usual, but Kagami could see from the boy's determined gaze that he was entirely focused even before the game started. He also noticed a blond haired boy that sat beside Kuroko, chattering loudly and nonstop (and the high voice was kind of annoying). Oh, let's not forget that there were _a lot _of girls (which were pretty much ignored) squealing at the tall blond boy as well as the blond smiled and waved at them like a celebrity.

_Heeh… so Teikou Middle has pretty boy like that as well, huh?_—Kagami snorted slightly, totally amused.

A few minutes after that, ten players from both respective schools gathered on the court. The match was about to begin and Kagami blinked in confusion because Kuroko stayed on the bench. "Huh, isn't he a starting member?"

Kagami was dying to ask someone about it, but he didn't know all the people that started to cheer around him when the tip off started. Kagami refrained from saying anything as he watched the play for a few minutes, but the more he saw the match, the more frowns appeared on his brow.

_The hell…?!_—Kagami scrunched up in distaste at the presented view. He must have been hallucinating or something, because… _What kind of play is that?!_

Compared to the street ball match in America… heck, even the sixth graders match that Kagami had ever seen and participated in, this flow of match was just…

All the strategies were too basic. Wait, it was too easy! Like straight out of book! There was no cool movement as well and the defenses were just too lenient.

_But I saw the way Aomine plays his basketball. He's at another level altogether!_—Kagami stared dumbfounded by this revelation. He didn't even talk about the middle school team, here. The high school team wasn't even better in the slightest.

Suddenly Kagami's temper was tested. Was this serious? Did Japanese basketball only go this far? Surely, it was just a practice match, but… they weren't seriously playing in such _level_ in serious match, right? RIGHT?!

_No, no… this is all wrong. Okay, maybe they aren't playing with all of their strength. After all, it's just a practice match…_—Kagami tried to convince himself, because damn it! He expected more of them than this pathetic excuse of a basketball game (if it could even be called that).

Though, the longer Kagami observed, the thinner his patience became. He almost lost it altogether when there was a member change and the noisy blond kid entered the court, exchanging place with a boy that had somehow gotten hurt in the match.

_Huh?_—Kagami started to notice something after that. The Teikou players were more worn out than Fukuda Shōgō. They looked considerably bruised too at some body parts. _Huh?!_

Then Kagami realized that the raging jeer around him threw nasty comments about the middle school team. How they would destroy them and little kids should just go home and drink milk. Kagami covered his ears as he saw the game more seriously. Those Fukuda Shōgō guys on court… they smirked arrogantly as if…!

_Fuck! They play dirty! Those bastards!_—Kagami wanted to scream at the referee to give them some fouls, but either the guy's eyes were deteriorated or he picked side because he didn't do anything as the older guys were picking on the middle schoolers by roughing them up quite blatantly.

This was beyond sad and pathetic. This was atrocious! How dare they mock the scared basketball by playing such a trashy game!

Kagami gritted his teeth in total fury and agitation. But he was trying his hardest not to make a scene here because it would inconvenience his own school of he was caught. But darn! He was very tempted to throttle those cheating assholes. The blond boy from Teikou that entered the court at the start of third quarter earlier was doing his best to save the game, though.

Actually, the blond was pretty good… no. He was some levels above the other players. The agility of his movement to avoid foul play… his speed, his dribbling technique… and his accuracy in shooting, finally! Someone who could apply basketball techniques with more control and freedom! Kagami also noticed the way the blond mimicked some of his enemies' moves perfectly, even better than them! That was kind of amazing!

But, with the other players subdued like that… it was still impossible to catch up with the scores. Basketball game wasn't a one man team after all. Looking at the score board, the gap only lessened a bit. Without serious drastic measure and change of flow, the blond wouldn't be able to shoot enough to overthrow the enemies.

_What are you going to do, Teikou?_—Now, Kagami felt fired up. After all, a team was struggling against foul plays. Of course he wanted to cheer for the middle school team now.

Though just as the game reached two minutes after the fourth quarter started, there was another member change, and this time, the teal haired boy was called up to the court.

Kagami's eyes widened for a moment as he realized that Kuroko had come up. He narrowed his gaze immediately, trying to locate where the shorter basketball player had positioned himself when the game resumed. He wondered what position Kuroko played as. Judging from his relatively small posture (and all his revealed weakness some days before), Kuroko was likely a point guard.

But, there was something different about Kuroko. Something….

"What the—?!"

A gasp of surprise from both the spectators and the players on court snapped Kagami back from his train of thought as one of Teikou players shot the ball in Fukuda Shōgō ring. He didn't even know when his mind had started to wander off that he missed what just happened on the court.

"Where did that pass come from?!"

"I don't—!"

"It was supposed to me on my grip!"

"What the hell is going on?!"

Shout after shout of surprise and confusion later while the game continued caused Kagami to get baffled. He also didn't know what exactly happened, but there was only three minutes left on the game, and Teikou was shooting score after score mercilessly, quickly lessening the gap between the two schools.

Kagami still couldn't find Kuroko on court as the pass courses seemed to create its own life, giving ball after ball to the Teikou's players, no matter how hard Fukuda Shōgō guys tried to keep the ball on their hands.

However, Kagami kept trying to locate Kuroko, and by some miracles, two minutes before the game ended, Kagami finally saw the boy. He tried very hard to focus on Kuroko's movement. Heck, they boy even barely moved from his spot, but for some reasons, everyone else seemed to ignore his presence.

When Kuroko finally moved, Kagami didn't let his eyes stray from him, even though the orange ball was very _appealing_ to look at. Kagami worked his hardest to focus on Kuroko and Kuroko only. Thus, finally… he saw it; Kuroko's basketball play.

The way Kuroko changed position without sound, they way Kuroko intercepted pass course to direct the ball in a split second to his own teammate, the way he elusively disappeared from the other opponent players' vision as he continued stealing ball and regulating the passes in Teikou team's favor. The way he finally shot… no, _it_ was another pass, a buzzer beater-like pass, and the blond kid jumped to alley up the ball in.

They way Kuroko created magic on court and brought his team to victory without everyone else noticing his role at all.

_Bathump._

Kagami's heart thumped unexplainably hard.

_Bathump. Bathump. Bathump._

And it wasn't just once. He had felt it for sometimes then, after he realized what Kuroko was doing on court. The moment he caught Kuroko's pale blue-sky eyes and his tiny calm smile on his own crimson ones, Kagami couldn't help feeling a surge of overwhelming feeling soaring inside his heart.

_Misdirection… a magic on court…!_

It was joy. It was excitement. It was… awe. It was like the first time Kagami watched a magic show when he was six, the way the stage seemed to alight and sparkle like another world. That was how Kagami felt when he saw Kuroko's play. He was like a magician, creating wonders and miracles that seemed impossible to happen.

_God…!_—Kagami's heart kept thudding hard and fast inside his ribcage. His face admittedly heated, his ears ringing in alarm of something that he should have realized. Something that had been happening to him recently… Why Kagami felt such strange feeling when he was with Kuroko.

And this match, despite being sullied by foul play (thanks to those pathetic high schoolers), the way his core yearned to go down there and capture the teal haired boy in a bear hug to share his joy in winning the match proudly as the sportive players, only confirmed something even more to Kagami.

Kagami Taiga was in love.

True, it sounded stupid and implausible because he had only met Kuroko three times. However, today it seemed so obvious, as clear as daylight. Kagami recognized that feeling. It was more than just a crush. It was stronger, more solid, just like the way his heart stirred for the amazing basketball game that he loved, Kuroko moved him in the same way.

It was love… and Kagami wasn't only in love with Kuroko, but also with his basketball play.

It honestly enthused and pounded something painfully inside him, cracking that something which he thought he was alright with. Something that later caused his eyes suddenly to get moist as the overwhelming feeling to cry wrapped his mind and heart completely.

_God… I want to play basketball…._

Kagami didn't know why, but that want, that need was so strong and severe that it almost crushed him.

_I want to play basketball so badly…!_

Kagami clenched at his chest and knee tightly, his hand shaking at the force he didn't know he possessed.

_Please… quick…! Heal my leg… so I can stand on that court once again…!_

_I want to be at the same court as him…!_

_I want to play with him…!_

_God, I want to… be with him…!_

* * *

**~Kagami x Kuroko~**

* * *

Kagami was dazed out of his mind as he waited for Teikou Middle guys to emerge from the gate. He had tried to catch Kuroko's gaze after the game, but they had to change their clothes first, so Kagami lost him as the other students swarmed their way to the changing room.

Kagami decided he would just wait at the gate.

Approximately fifteen minutes later, Teikou Middle second stringers, along with their coach appeared and walked passing the gate. Kagami straightened his body as he looked around to find Kuroko. Kuroko was short and his presence was hard to notice, but Kagami believed he could see him if he concentrated hard enough.

Just as Kagami had expected, he saw the teal haired boy, walking in relaxed pace at the end of the line, with the blond kid fawning over him at his side.

"Kuroko-chi is wonderful today too! You saved the day again with those amazing passes!" the blond kid hugged the expressionless teen's neck.

"Kise-kun, please let go. You are annoying and suffocating me." Kuroko commented emotionlessly.

"Wah! That's mean!" the blond, whom Kuroko called 'Kise-kun' faked a cry, and Kagami had to agree that he was indeed rather irritating for being so touchy feely with Kuroko like that.

Kagami jerked slightly as he realized that he had felt a moment of jealousy towards a guy he barely knew. Heck, he didn't even know his name before Kuroko _mentioned_ that Kise-guy's name.

"By the way, Kuroko-chi, I noticed that earlier, you seem to glance at the bleachers several times. Were you looking for someone?" Kise asked, looking curious.

Kuroko was silent for a moment before he nodded. "I saw him at the end of the match."

"Who?" Kise tilted his head aside.

"He…" Kuroko paused as he looked aside, Kagami was there leaning against the outer wall of the gate. "Kagami-kun…"

"Congrats for your winning," Kagami said, smiling in satisfaction because Kuroko noticed his presence there, and more because he heard the conversation, that Kuroko was looking for him even when they were still in the middle of the game.

"You saw the entire match." It sounded like a statement, a confirming phrase and Kagami was happy to nod in verification.

"Awesome passes and misdirection, by the way, I… like your basketball style," Kagami grinned, feeling strangely pleased despite the level of the game. Seeing Kuroko's play brought such happiness inside him and he was probably biased, because he just realized how he felt about Kuroko, but it didn't matter.

Kuroko blinked once, seeming astounded as Kagami confessed and then his face flushed slightly.

_Huh?—_Kagami was surprised. Kuroko looked like… Was he?

"Kagami-kun… that is rather… embarrassing…" Kuroko almost stuttered, _almost. _But he still looked relatively calm despite the wavering voice and that pink tint on his cheeks. He looked down slightly, not meeting Kagami's eyes and crap! That gesture was mighty adorable for God's sake!

Kagami blushed as well as he realized how his compliment had affected Kuroko. But he just couldn't help it! It must have been because of his American upbringing! He was used to saying everything that he thought honestly after all. And the fact that he loved Kuroko's basketball style was something that he wanted Kuroko to know.

"Uh, um… I-I mean, your basketball is amazing, and I—"

"Huh? Who is it, Kuroko-chi?"

Kise's blond head suddenly appeared on Kagami's line of sight, cutting his speech, as Kise stood at Kuroko's right side, looking at Kagami inquiringly.

"Is he your friend, Kuroko-chi?" Kise glanced down at Kuroko whose facial expression had reverted back to the dull emotionless one.

Though, Kuroko's eyes were still stealing glance at Kagami rather shyly afterwards. Kagami's heart skipped a beat as he could read the emotion in Kuroko's eyes. It was so cute!

"Um, yes, this is Kagami Taiga," Kuroko introduced him to Kise, but didn't mention Kagami's school name. Well, he guessed it was better this way unless he wanted to be considered as a spy from Shōei. "Kagami-kun, this is Kise Ryouta."

Kagami offered his hand in a handshake. "Nice to meet you. I saw your play earlier. Wonderful alley up at the end, but your copying skill is magnificent as well," he said with a smile.

"Whoa, cool! You can guess that I copied other people's styles?" Kise's eyes sparkled as he clasped Kagami's hand with both palms. "Amazing! Even Aomine-chi hasn't noticed that yet! Kuroko-chi! This guy is awesome! Are you playing basketball too?"

Kagami kind of figured that Kise was kind of bouncy, but he didn't realize he would be this energetic. But then, he noticed Kise's face. Pretty beautiful face with warm honey colored eyes under long golden eyelashes, and a perfect shape of nose and plump pink lips, thus suddenly Kagami felt he had ever seen him before, somewhere.

"Kagami-kun?" Kise looked puzzled because Kagami stilled so suddenly.

"Have we met before?" Kagami unconsciously asked, looking at Kise's eyes directly.

"E-eeh?" Kise's cheeks reddened slightly. "W-what's with the sudden pickup line, Kagami-kun? You're so daring!" he then slapped Kagami's shoulder repeatedly.

"Huh?" Kagami's brow furrowed in confusion as Kuroko's body visibly tensed.

"No way, a guy just hit on me. What should I do?" Kise held his colored cheeks afterwards, looking rather embarrassed and self-conscious.

"What?" Kagami eyed Kise ridiculously as he also noticed the way Kuroko narrowed his eyes at Kise, actually giving an aura that he was displeased.

"Ahaha, Kagami-kun is quite the char—"

"Kyaaa! It's Kise-kun!"

"Eh?" The three boys snapped and suddenly realized that all the Teikou members weren't there anymore. And surrounding them instead, were the girls who seemed very attracted to Kise's look as they squealed enthusiastically.

"Oh, my God! It's the model, Kise-kun!"

"Hyaaaah! No way! I want his autograph!"

"Kise-kuuuun!"

"Oh, no—! Run, you two!" Kise immediately caught Kagami and Kuroko's arms and promptly pulled them to get away from the gate and the girls that were apparently determined to chase the blond.

_The model!—_Kagami instantly remembered the billboard with Kise's face on it. Right, he should have realized it sooner. The amounts of his fan girls were a dead giveaway, and yet Kagami didn't recall it until a second ago.

Now, Kagami was pulled to run.

Not a good idea at all.

_Shit! My leg!_—Kagami felt the pull of muscles on his left leg and the sharp stabbing pain as well as the feel of his flesh ripping.

"Ouch!" Kagami cried out in agony as his leg gave away. He tumbled and fell down on the ground, gripping his left leg in reflect as both Kuroko and Kise seemed to get startled at his unexpected collapse and shout.

Kuroko widened his eyes as Kagami grimaced, feeling warm blood seeping to his baggy pants and wetting his palm. "Kagami-kun!"

"Eh?! EEEEH?!" Kise screeched in panic.

"Kyaaaa! What happened?!" the girls screamed in shock at the sight of the blood.

"Ambulance! Quickly, call ambulance!"

**End of Chapter 4**

**Tbc…**

* * *

**A/N: **Ouch! I'm so sorry, Kagami! I got carried away and hurt you! Sorry! Come on, ambulance! Hurry and come save Kagami! *coughs* Hopefully though, in next chapter Kagami can get better than now. See you again in next chapter!


	5. Getting Closer

**Disclaimer and Warning: **_**See chapter 1!**_

**A/N: **Sorry for the wait! Here's the new chapter for 'Waiting'! Now please ENJOY!

* * *

**Chapter 5: **_**Getting Closer**_

* * *

Kagami hated hospital.

The building was always painted so white and too bright, hurting his eyes. It smelled weird with the mixes of chemical substances that irritated his nose. Besides, hospital always related to something relatively painful, whether it was getting hurt physically or emotionally, or just generally being _sick_.

It was never a pleasant memory, being in the hospital, both as the patient and as the visitor.

Kagami sighed deeply as the string of continuous lecture from Yamamoto was droning on and on and on at how _idiotic_ and irresponsible Kagami was for sneaking out _again_ and now was hurt because of his own carelessness. He didn't know why Yamamoto never got tired with his obviously ignored ranting.

Kagami felt like covering his ears and burying his head under the uncomfortable hospital pillow just to spite the _boring _middle aged man, but thought the better of it since he would be the one suffering from the consequence. They lived together after all. What if the old man refused to feed him? Kagami would be miserable.

He really should learn how to cook his own meal. Then Kagami wouldn't have to worry about provisions anymore.

"Taiga! Are you even listening to what I'm saying?"

"Tsk, I know already. I'm sorry, okay? I won't do it anymore," Kagami sulked in defeat. He just wanted his caretaker to stop bitching because he felt the headache coming just from listening to the man's voice.

"You…! Just what do you think you're doing? Be more serious about it! You tore the stitches open! The wound was just healing! Don't you know what's at stake here? Are you really okay not being able to play basketball again for the rest of your life?!"

Kagami cringed at the raised volume. Yamamoto rarely shouted, so it kind of surprised him too, but the old man sounded very apprehensive now. Well, Kagami was kind of Yamamoto's responsibility when his parents were away, so Kagami understood his concern. But still, he didn't have to be so upset about it, did he? It wasn't like Kagami got hurt intentionally.

Though, Kagami didn't like the prospect of Yamamoto's warning. Not being able to play basketball again… Kagami shuddered. He really didn't want to go there.

"I know I was at fault, Yama-jii. I'm self-reflecting here as you're trying to drill a hole into my eardrums. I'm quite in pain now, so cut me some slack, please," Kagami furrowed his brow, considering to just ignore the old man if he insisted on continuing his sermon.

Kagami could hear Yamamoto let out a frustrated sigh. "You need something? Do I have to get the doctor?"

Well, at least Yamamoto seemed calmer now compared to a few seconds before. "No doctor. But I'm kind of thirsty." Kagami scratched at his cheek sheepishly.

"Alright. Be a good boy and stay in bed while I'm getting you something to drink." Then Yamamoto turned around and left the hospital room where Kagami had to stay overnight for observation after the doctor re-stitched the torn ones.

Luckily, the wound wasn't so bad even though it bleed quite a lot. Five stitches were torn when he tried to run earlier, so it was quite painful, but not much damaged. His important and vital tendons, blood vessels and nerve were fine. The ER doctor yelled at him, though, courtesy for being overworked and sleep-deprived for almost three days, and he really didn't need patient that couldn't even take care of himself when all Kagami had to do is _resting_ and _not doing anything strenuous _for a few weeks (two months max).

Thanks to that, he added several weeks to Kagami's recuperation period. Damn it. Kagami would miss winter championship at this rate. He really should lay low for awhile.

A light knock on the door brought Kagami out of his silent, inner whining. He turned to face the door just in time when someone opened it and a blue haired teen snuck his head in. "Um… is it okay to come in?"

"Kuroko?" Kagami was surprised seeing the shorter teen there. Then he was even more surprised as the door was opened wider to reveal another person, the tall blond model, Kise Ryouta, there with him. "Kise too? Why are you guys here?"

Kagami had thought they went home after the ambulance brought Kagami in. Did they follow the car to the hospital? But it was quite far from the school, right?

"Uh, err… I-," Kise rushed inside the room before suddenly bowed at Kagami. "I'm so sorry!"

"Huh?" Kagami was dumbfounded at the sudden outburst.

"I-… because of me you got hurt…! I'm very-very sorry!" Kise was still bowing so deeply and his voice and body shook slightly as he spoke, sounding and looking very remorseful and probably afraid or something.

"Eh?" Kagami pointed at himself confusedly at this turn of event.

"I also apologized." Now it was Kuroko that bowed deeply, slightly behind Kise.

Now, Kagami was baffled. "Wait a—! Why is Kuroko apologizing too? I meant, what are you guys apologizing for? It's not your fault at all!"

"But…!" Kise looked upward at Kagami, his eyes glassy and teary and he looked absolutely terrified. "But, I pulled you to run! And then you fell and got hurt…!"

"No, that's not—look," Kagami tried to calm Kise because Kise was about to cry. "I was already injured. It's not the fall that injured my leg. Well, the run _did_ cause my stitch to tear, but you didn't know about it, so it's alright," he said, rather floundering.

"It's not alright! There was so much blood…!" Now, Kise looked pale, tears already pooled in his amber colored eyes, and wow did he look absolutely stunning with his face almost in tears like that…

_Geeh! What am I thinking?!_—Kagami shook his head to clear his mind from being distracted by Kise's pretty face. Seriously, was it legal for a guy to look that pretty? Jeez, models…!

"Hey, hey, it's not that bad. Yes, it bled quite a lot, but no permanent damage, I can assure you. All it did is pissing my doctor and my caretaker off," Kagami grinned, trying to lighten Kise's mood.

Kise sniffled slightly. "R-really…? You'll be okay…?"

Apparently Kise was really scared that he had hurt Kagami badly, so Kagami softened his expression and smiled reassuringly at Kise. "Yeah. I'll be fine. Just need to lay low for awhile until my leg's fully healed this time."

Kise nodded slightly. "Okay…" He sounded and looked slightly relieved and that was good, since he was calming down enough to respond Kagami's smile with his own. "But, like I thought, I just can't leave like this. Um, maybe I can pay for the hospital bill or something?" Kise unexpectedly offered.

"What? No! You don't have to!" Kagami instantly declined the offer because hospital bill wasn't cheap. Kise was still middle school kid, right? Even though he was a model, but still….

"I insist. Or else I'll feel really bad and can't sleep. Even though I didn't know about your previous injury, I'm still responsible for the _new_ one, so… let me do something to make amend," Kise seemed determined and Kagami couldn't argue his reasoning.

"Yeah, but hospital bill is still too much… let's see. Why don't we think that you owe me this one time and one day I'll ask for a favor from you, how does that sound?" Kagami offered a solution. It was actually an idea in a spur of moment, but it was a nice one for him.

"A favor in the future…" Kise contemplated the idea.

"Yeah, like… ah, since I play basketball too, will you someday teach me one of your cool moves?"

Kise's face brightened tenfold at that. "Of course!" then he beamed, smiling excitedly at the prospect of playing basket together.

"Then I'll consider it even," Kagami smiled back, getting thrilled himself that he would _someday_ have a _chance_ to play basketball with and or against Kise. He was one of the GoM after all. Even though right now he was still quite _raw_, the talent was indeed there. He would become a monster in a few months. Kagami was sure of it.

"Okay! It's a deal then, Kagami-kun!" Kise was still smiling very nicely when his cell phone suddenly rang in the room quite loudly. "Oh, no! I forgot to turn it in silence mode! Sorry!"

Kise immediately scrambled for his phone and winced as he saw the caller ID. "Crap. It's my mom. I have to get this. Excuse me!" Then he excused himself and left the room quite in panicky.

Kagami shook his head slightly at that.

"Um… Kagami-kun."

Kagami yelped in surprise at the sudden call from the other side of his bed as he whirled his head around only to find Kuroko there. "Huh?! Kuroko, weren't you supposed to be behind Kise just now?! How did you get there?!" he couldn't help gaping, looking back and forth between the empty spot and the one Kuroko stood now. "Wait, never mind. You were probably using some kind of Ninja skill to appear and disappear as you please, jeez…! I told you to stop showing up like that. You almost gave me a heart attack…!"

"Kagami-kun… you talk too much." Kuroko dryly commented.

"Hey! What's with the sudden rude remark?!" Kagami protested in annoyance at that.

"I was trying to apologize too, you know." Kuroko actually ignored his complaint and kept talking flatly.

"I told you. It wasn't anyone's fault… It was just a result of unfortunate event. I believed people called that an accident or something…" Kagami was quickly getting tired of this apologizing thing. He didn't have anyone to blame for his own recklessness after all.

"But, I knew you were injured, yet I still asked you to watch our game when you were supposed to be recuperating…" Kuroko's expression darkened slightly as he looked downcast. Even though his face was quite dull, Kagami understood that Kuroko felt really bad about it.

Kagami let out a long sigh. "I came to watch because I wanted to. You didn't especially ask me. You offered and I didn't regret coming, since I got to see an amazing play, your play," he reached out slightly to touch Kuroko's head unconsciously, just because he wanted to make the teal haired boy feel better. Plus Kagami really didn't like Kuroko getting disheartened for something that wasn't his slip-up.

_Wow, his hair is very soft…—_Kagami couldn't help noting as he ruffled Kuroko's hair slightly. It felt very nice to touch, the strands of pale colored hair that tangled around his fingers. He had thought that Kuroko might have bleached and dyed his hair before, but with such exquisite class of texture, it must have been natural color.

Kuroko was silent still as Kagami played with his hair, but then Kagami saw the faint hue on Kuroko's cheeks. Was he embarrassed? How cute…!

_Huh?! What am I thinking?! Bad thought! Bad thought! Stop thinking about Kuroko like that!_—Kagami suddenly felt very self conscious as he slowly pulled his hand back. He shook his head again, but his heartbeat was getting faster and harder and he was kind of embarrassed after realizing that it was only a few hours ago when it dawned to him that he probably had fallen for the shorter male.

Seriously! Kagami had to control his feeling and act so as not to be so obvious about it, damn it! And ruffling Kuroko's hair and feeling good about it was _not_ undisclosed at all!

"Kagami-kun…" Kuroko's low voice caused Kagami to jolt and his heart to skip a beat. Now he was sweating slightly, trying to hide his own blush rather uselessly.

_Uh-oh!_—Kagami half closed his eyes because he didn't want to see Kuroko notice his so… so apparent attraction to him.

"Do you really think like that, about my play?"

_Huh?_—Kagami blinked up slightly at Kuroko who still wasn't looking at him. On the contrary, Kuroko looked wry, somehow. As if he didn't really believe Kagami's opinion. _That's what he wants to make sure of?_

"You think I'm the type to lip-service?" Kagami snorted, feeling funny at Kuroko's idea and at himself for imagining _him_, of all people, wooing Kuroko _like that_. No way! That was too strange! It wasn't like him at all! Alex and Tatsuya would probably die laughing at that view.

Kagami ignored the slight twinge of pain in his heart whilst remembering Himuro and chose to see Kuroko's reaction to his question.

Kuroko stared at Kagami now, looking partially lost. "But… compared to the others' play, mine is quite boring, right?"

"Are you _kidding_ me? That's the most _awesome_ technique used in that game! I'd only heard about it once when I was in the States. Never seen it first-hand before that game… it's so rare to be able to witness it, you know. Misdirection… it was like— _magic_ on the court! A miracle! That's right! No wonder you are one of the Generation of _Miracles_...!"

Kagami couldn't stop spewing how excited and impressed he was with Kuroko's basketball style. He probably looked like a small child talking about his favorite super hero, but he didn't care, because that was how he felt right then. That was how he thought about Kuroko's magical play. It was honestly incredible.

Kuroko looked at him with his wide aquamarine eyes, actually looking slightly astounded before he chuckled, probably thinking how strange Kagami was with his childish gesture as he flailed around, illustrating his words.

"Sheesh, don't laugh! I'm serious!" Kagami felt like pouting now, a bit uncomfortable as well for getting so eager by himself.

"My apologize, Kagami-kun is just endearing, I could not help myself," Kuroko was still chuckling, but Kagami immediately flushed pink at the compliment.

"You…! You're teasing me…!" Kagami was torn between getting angry and happy that Kuroko called him _cute_ even though it was probably just on a whim.

"No, really… Kagami-kun is adorable," Kuroko was calm enough now, to give Kagami a small heartfelt smile that caused Kagami's heart to soar. And then, Kuroko did something that almost caused his heart to stop. The bluenet reached both his hands to one of Kagami's and held it in his own grip gently while saying "Thank you."

Kagami didn't know what Kuroko was thanking him for. He wanted to say it should be the other way around because Kuroko had shown him something so wonderful. Even though Kagami was rather disappointed that Japanese level of basketball was considerably lower than American, Kuroko gave him hope that there were still strong people, like Generation of Miracles, that would possibly become a challenge for Kagami to overcome.

Kagami would be alright in Japan. Kuroko made it alright. Even though Kagami had to be patient to recover first, Kuroko would make the wait bearable.

Kagami curled his fingers on one of Kuroko's hands that held his and then put his free hand on top of them. "You're welcome, and this might sound strange, but I want to see more of your play in the near future, if it's alright."

His face felt warm. Kagami knew he was blushing, but who wouldn't when they saw Kuroko smile like that?

"I recalled you said that you wanted to play against our team in the near future," Kuroko reminded him; now back to his usual expressionless face and flat tone, and Kagami just had to huff out a laugh at that.

"Yeah, but while I'm healing, it will definitely be fun seeing your play," Kagami grinned ear to ear, feeling frivolous. He still didn't want to let go of Kuroko's hand though, and he allowed himself to enjoy the wonderful feeling of the innocent touch because it was enough to make him very happy at that moment.

Besides, Kuroko didn't make any gesture to pull his hand away as well. Well, it was until the door was opened once again and Yamamoto walked in on them like that bearing two large cups of cold drink. It was Kagami who pulled his hand first, surprised at the intrusion.

"Huh? Your friend?" Yamamoto raised his eyebrow questioningly as he put the cups on the table and Kagami fought the blush rising to his cheeks. Damn Yamamoto and his timing!

"Y-yeah," Kagami laughed awkwardly. "It's Kuroko Tetsuya. I met him at the street ball court a few weeks before."

"Nice to meet you," Kuroko bowed politely at Yamamoto.

"Ooh," Yamamoto nodded back at him, smiling slightly, "Nice meet you too, Kuroko-kun. I'm Yamamoto, Taiga's caretaker," he said, introducing himself. Though, despite his smile, Kagami could feel something else in his voice, but he wasn't sure what.

"So, you are the reason of why Taiga's been so disobedient lately… sneaking out of house when he was supposed to study or rest. Sheesh, he's such troublesome child," Yamamoto shook his head and now Kagami felt offended.

"Hey!"

But Kagami could sense that Kuroko seemed bothered by it because even though he was silent, his face was rather pale. "Ah… I apologize for being an inconvenience," he said slowly afterwards.

"Huh?" Kagami was bemused of why Kuroko was apologizing.

"No, it's Taiga's own thoughtlessness, I believe. But I will have to ask you not to get him wound up so much next time. Frankly, I wish he would stay at home until his wound heals completely," Yamamoto smiled wryly now.

"I understand," Kuroko said before he bowed once again and then turned to face Kagami with unreadable expression. "I have to go now, Kagami-kun."

"Ah? Okay…" Kagami nodded, still feeling that something was off when Kuroko strutted to the door. Somehow, Kagami felt rather worried so he called him once again. "Kuroko!"

Kuroko stopped to look back at Kagami. "Yes?"

"I'll see you again at the usual place when I get better to walk around, okay?" Kagami raised his thumb half hoping that Kuroko would say yes.

Kuroko just smiled at him. "Get better soon, Kagami-kun," he said before he walked out the door.

For some reasons, Kagami felt that he wouldn't see Kuroko in that street ball court _ever_ again. He turned to face Yamamoto, scowling at him because he suspected that it had something to do with what the old man had said, even though he couldn't quite catch it from their rather one-sided conversation earlier.

"What did you do?"

"What do you mean?"

Yamamoto played innocent, but Kagami knew him. He must have said something to Kuroko in… _subtle_ way. Kagami had never been good in reading between the lines, but he knew Yamamoto enough to note his tone when he wanted something.

Kagami frowned at him. "Kuroko looked strange when he left. You must have sent some silent message from your earlier conversation with him."

"I'm and _esper_ now?" Yamamoto chuckled slightly, approaching Kagami to hand him his drink.

"Yamamoto," Kagami growled in warning. He didn't want to joke around at this moment.

Yamamoto sighed in acquiescence. "You should take his advice. Get better _soon_. And that can only happen if you _stay at home_ and _rest_. I just make sure that you don't have any reason to sneak out of home again."

Kagami glared resentfully at Yamamoto now. "The hell?! He's my friend, you know! Mind your own business!"

"_You_ are my business! Your parents trust me to take care of you! And if that friend of yours is the reason you can't restore your health, then I'll get rid of him!"

Kagami gritted his teeth in fury now, clenching his fists on the bed sheet before he grabbed his pillow and threw it at Yamamoto who was surprised and spilled the drink all over his clothes now because of the impact with the said thrown pillow.

"Leave." Kagami glowered.

"Taiga…"

"GET OUT! I currently don't want to see your face!" Kagami shouted irritably and Yamamoto threw his arms up in defeat.

"Fine. Just call if you need me," and then the old man was gone from his sight.

Kagami punched the bed hard enough to feel his own hand sting, but he just clicked his tongue before he laid down, aggravated at how things never went as he hoped. He should have at least asked for Kuroko's number, so he could stay in contact with him or something. Damn that Yamamoto for doing something so unnecessary!

Now Kuroko probably blamed himself for what happened to Kagami even though it was never his fault in the first place. He probably wouldn't want to see Kagami again, huh?

_Again… I'm losing another friend…_—Kagami felt his heart throb in pain at the remembrance of his and Tatsuya's brotherhood fall-out.

But Kuroko was neither just a friend anymore for Kagami, nor was he a brother. He had a crush on that cute, slender boy, a romantic feeling. Kagami wouldn't let it go that easily… not this time.

* * *

**~Kagami x Kuroko~**

* * *

Kuroko got out of the hospital feeling rather depressed. To think that Kagami's caretaker would ask him to stay away from Kagami… even though Kagami didn't seem to realize what was going on, at the end he seemed to sense something.

"_I'll see you again at the usual place when I get better to walk around, okay?" _

"Really… that person is…" Kuroko smiled, feeling better that Kagami still wanted to meet up even though his caretaker clearly wanted him to stay home. He understood Yamamoto's worry, but Kuroko didn't think he could stay away now. Not after all of that….

Besides, for Kuroko, Kagami was…

"Huh?" Kuroko's musing was severed as he saw a familiar face on the way out. Surprisingly though, Kise was still outside the hospital, leaning on the railing. "Kise-kun?"

"Yah," Kise grinned at Kuroko, lifting his hand up before joining him.

"I thought you went home…" Kuroko blinked up at him, wondering as they walked together.

"Mom scolded me for staying late outside without calling, but I want to go home with Kuroko-chi," Kise grinned sheepishly. "You sure took your time in there with Kagami-kun, though."

"Well… I wanted to stay longer, actually," Kuroko said feeling slightly dissatisfied again for having to leave because of that caretaker, but he didn't show it much with his facial expression.

"Uh… Why?" Kise asked, looking startled and somehow alarmed.

"Kagami-kun said… he liked my basketball play," Kuroko softened his expression as he remembered how animated Kagami was when he describe the wonder of misdirection that Kuroko used, making it sound like a real magic.

"I like Kuroko-chi's play a LOT too!" Kise said, suddenly keyed up for some reason.

"Thank you, Kise-kun, but… Kagami-kun's 'like' is… slightly different," Kuroko smiled warmly at that and Kise looked like he was about to freak out.

"What does that even mean?!" Well, Kise was freaking out, apparently.

Kuroko chuckled slightly at his comical look. "It's a secret."

* * *

**~Kagami x Kuroko~**

* * *

Kuroko Tetsuya, 13 year old, Teikou Middle Class 2-E, seat number 39, "Hmm… I can only find general information about him in the school website… but there's no contact information in it," Kagami huffed as he closed up his laptop.

_Maybe I should go to his school… but then I'd look like a stalker…—_Kagami sighed. He really should have asked for Kuroko's number.

It had been two weeks after that time in the hospital, and Kagami hadn't seen Kuroko since, not even when he stopped by that court after school in the past five days and then waited until almost sunset before going home. Kuroko really never showed up again, there.

"I want to see him…" Kagami sighed again, burying his face in his arms on the table. He missed Kuroko's dull face, his smooth voice, his habit on showing and disappearing like a ghost (though Kagami wasn't fond of it, it grew on him still), his unpredictable wittiness (Kagami snorted slightly at this one), his beautiful, clear blue eyes… his rare precious smile…

Damn. Kagami had it bad. He even dreamt about Kuroko sometimes, it was really embarrassing. But he couldn't stop thinking about him. Ever since he saw Kuroko's incredible breathtaking play… that magical feeling grew inside Kagami. It warmed his heart and yet excited him at the same time. This… _love_ was a really weird feeling, indeed.

_I really want to see him to the point of aching… it feels so insufferable… like I'm carrying a disease, and yet I absolutely don't want to get rid of it. Just like the pain of being unable to play basketball even though I really, like-_really_, want too… not seeing Kuroko pains me to the same level…_

Kagami heaved a sigh again deeply. He was really bored with absolutely nothing to do since he couldn't progress with his study (yet, still getting used to it, damn it!). He had too much free-time to think about Kuroko like a love-sick puppy. It was kind of ironic, because Kagami _hated_ dogs.

_How can I see him?_

When Kagami was mulling over a way to do something so he could meet up with Kuroko, someone rang his doorbell.

"Huh?" Kagami looked at the clock. It was 10 a.m. Who would visit his house in Sunday at 10 in the morning? It might just be delivery service, but there was no heads up from anyone that wanted to send something, though.

_Probably mom and dad sent something…_

Kagami stood carefully and took his crutch to help him walk to the door. Well, Kagami didn't actually need one since it didn't hurt anymore to walk without crutch, but Yamamoto would bitch at him _again_ if he saw him without it, so to spare the lecture, he would just go along with what Yamamoto wanted.

Yes, he and Yamamoto reconciled. The old man apologized for his rash action for blaming Kuroko even though he didn't deserve such treatment, just because Yamamoto was very worried about Kagami's well-being, and Kagami did too for yelling and throwing a pillow at Yamamoto.

Kagami promised to stay at home aside going to school until he felt better and wouldn't go outside without permission again. In exchange, Yamamoto promised that he would apologize to Kuroko if they saw each other again.

Well, that would be quite a challenge, considering Kagami and Kuroko might never meet again…

Kagami arrived at the door when the second bell rang. "Wait a moment!" He hurriedly balanced his body before he reached for the doorknob and twisted it open. "Yes?"

Kagami widened his eyes as he saw the person behind the door.

"Good morning, Kagami-kun."

"Ku-… Kuroko?!"

**End of Chapter 5**

**Tbc…**

* * *

**A/N: **Uuh… another cliffy? *laughs sheepishly* Well, I think this story morphed rather heavy in the middle… there's a background story of why Kagami's conversation with Yamamoto seems… intense. Well, it has something to do with Kagami's family. Anyway, who _is this_ Yamamoto, the caretaker? *lol* Yah, well… he's an OC, not actually crucial, but meh, since the father and the mother haven't shown up yet, he'll do to keep Kagami in check.

Anyway, any feed-back? *grins*


	6. Long for You

**A/N:** Ah, dear readers... I don't know anymore how I'm going to make the progress for KagaKuro relationship here *sighs* Maybe I should ask for the GoM to help me create some problems just to make these two get closer… Well, sorry for the wait. Here, new chapter for you awesome readers! Enjoy~

**Disclaimer and Warning: **_**See chapter 1!**_

* * *

**Chapter 6: **_**Long for You**_

* * *

"Ku—Kuroko?!" Kagami was very surprised seeing the shorter, light-blue haired boy standing at his doorstep. "W-why are you… _wait_, how did you even get here?!"

"By commuting the train from the nearest station from my house and walked here after getting off at the nearest station here?" Kuroko tilted his head aside, looking very adorable even though he stared at Kagami with his usual dull eyes.

Kagami huffed, his cheeks heating slightly. "That's not what I meant! I mean… how do you know where I live?"

Kuroko looked down slightly, apparently rather bashful even though his face didn't show such expression. "I heard from Yamamoto-san."

"Yama-jii?" Kagami widened his eyes, baffled.

"Yesterday, we accidentally met at a shopping district. I called to him and asked how you were, and he suddenly apologized for being so rude to me the other day at the hospital. He also said that I could see you if I wanted to and gave me the address," Kuroko explained slowly.

…_Yamamoto! I'm so sorry for being such disrespectful idiot to youuuuu!_—Kagami was inwardly crying in happiness because his caretaker was actually a very wonderful person for finding Kuroko—_Not really, but still! What a fateful amazing coincidence! God, THANK YOU!_—and even going as far as inviting Kuroko to visit Kagami! From now on Kagami would listen to whatever he said!

"Umm… if it is not a good time…" Kuroko sounded hesitant now because Kagami was too busy thanking God and Yamamoto inwardly to give him any response. Kagami immediately snapped out of his reverie, though.

"No! No! I mean, YES it is a good time! T-thank you for visiting…" Kagami scratched his head, feeling self conscious all of sudden. "Haha, I'd been very _uptight_ these days since there's nothing to do after school. I thought I'd die of boredom, seriously. Come in, come in." He moved away from the door to make a way for Kuroko.

"Sorry for disturbing," the bluenet said before entering the house.

Kagami was very giddy. Just when he thought he really wanted to see Kuroko (and despaired that he might never see him again), Kuroko suddenly appeared in front of his house. He was so glad now. He would personally thank Yamamoto later when the old man came home.

"But… Kagami-kun gets a lot of free time, huh? How about home work?" Kuroko innocently asked and Kagami winced slightly.

"Yah… that's something else…" Kagami mumbled quietly and nervously, leading Kuroko to the living room. Kuroko was quiet for sometimes along the way, until Kagami turned around to catch the pale blue eyes focusing on his crutch. "Ah, this?" Kagami lifted the crutch easily. "Just for appearance. Yama-jii always gets bitchy if I don't use it. My leg's actually getting much better and I can walk without this annoying _thing_ if I want to."

"Ah, no… please keep using it. It helps your leg get better faster if you don't stress it too much by walking without the crutch," Kuroko said, looking somber with a hint of worry in his eyes. Kagami smiled slightly. Couldn't help feeling touched by Kuroko's concern towards himself.

Short time later, they arrived in the living room and Kagami told Kuroko to sit and make himself at home. "Kay, what do you want to drink? Ah… since it's rather cold today, how about hot chocolate?" he offered after Kuroko sat down on the sofa.

"Anything will do, Kagami-kun. Thank you."

"Hot chocolate, it is." Kagami nodded and disappeared to the kitchen to make the drink before going back to the living room and serving it out. "Enjoy," he said. He even opened that new brand rice cake to serve together with the steamy chocolate.

"Looks delicious," Kuroko gave Kagami a small smile before taking his cup and sipped it in a rather cute gesture with both his palms holding the cup, his form looking blissful. Kagami's heart skipped a beat at the serene view before it started to pick up pace.

_D-damn! Why is he so cute?!_—Kagami couldn't help shaking his head to chase out such outrageous thought. It was dangerous! He was alone at home with the object of his affection after all! _Waaah! Control yourself, Kagami Taigaaaa!_

"S-so… what should we do now?" Kagami tried to calm himself by giving out a small talk (and berating himself inwardly). But seriously, he really had no idea what to talk about. From what he knew so far, Kuroko was a silent type. He wouldn't start a conversation unless it was required. Well, Kagami wasn't a chatty person either. He disliked useless rambling and gossiping like what his female friends often did back in LA.

Even in school now, Kagami didn't really talk to anyone about anything except school matters because his classmates were still kind of afraid of him. Worse, his teachers still wanted him to dye his hair black (even though he already told them that his current one was his natural hair color). Oh, but there was also someone like Kiyoshi who was very nice. He often asked Kagami to have lunch together and to chat about basketball, but that was beside the point since the older boy was quite an airhead and was very popular with other people. Kagami didn't dislike that kind of person, though.

Now he wished that he was a suave guy like Tatsuya, and Kagami wouldn't have a problem to talk about something interesting besides basketball. _Wait, what's wrong with talking about basketball? That's right! We should talk about basketball! Kuroko likes basketball after all!_

"Umm…"

"Oh yeah—"

Both Kagami and Kuroko blinked once when they started to speak at the same time. Then they looked at each other for awhile before both started chuckling. "Sorry, what is it?" Kagami asked, still feeling funny about the awkward circumstances.

"Ah, I saw some gears for workout on the way here in the other room. Kagami-kun works out often?" Kuroko asked.

"Well, yeah, the leg is quite useless at the moment, so I can't jog like I usually did back then. I still have to do something to keep my body fit somehow, so those are for keeping my upper extremities in shape," Kagami nodded.

"Kagami-kun really likes basketball, huh?" Kuroko sounded fond when he said it.

"Of course! Basketball is fun after all. Ah, and I can get a lot of friends by playing basketball too. Even the opponents on court can be the buddies I respect!" Kagami grinned widely, getting very excited as their conversation started to flow more naturally with the basketball topic.

As the conversation progressed, Kagami knew a little bit more about Kuroko, like about his parents that were hardly at home because of their job and how often Kuroko went to Maji Burger to get his daily supply of vanilla milkshake (like a clock work, actually). Kagami wondered why he didn't think of that place when he was still looking for Kuroko some days before. He also knew that Kuroko was the only child and he liked reading mystery novels.

"What is your favorite food, Kuroko?" Kagami wanted to know more about him and at this point, any question would do even though it sounded stupid.

"I am not picky about food, but I cannot eat too much," Kuroko sighed apologetically.

"I kind of figured that after eating together with you in Maji. Ah, and I know you _love_ vanilla milkshake," Kagami grinned as he recalled it.

"Yes, vanilla milkshake is the best drink ever." Kuroko smiled slightly, approving whole-heartedly. "How about you, Kagami-kun? Any favorite food?"

"I can eat pretty much anything in large portion. I'm always hungry like that," Kagami laughed sheepishly, tapping his stomach. "But homemade food is the best!" he winked slightly.

Maybe Kagami really should learn how to cook for himself after this. Who knows, someday the skill would become very useful, especially if he planned to leave home and live alone in apartment. He at least had to be able to cook so his money wouldn't be wasted on buying lunch and dinner every day. He should think about getting part time job as well in the next holiday to start saving for it.

"I also love eating home-made food, especially if I can eat together with my family," Kuroko said, looking like he longed for it.

That of course determined Kagami's resolution. _I'll definitely learn to cook so I can feed him someday!_

"Ah, that's right! It's boring if we are just talking, right? How about some game—"

"Kagami-kun, your leg…" Kuroko eyed Kagami's left leg prominently and Kagami flinched, knowing what he implied instantly.

"Err… not that… I mean video games. Do you play any? I've got some in my room," he offered again.

"I did not play much game outside the ones in game center, but sure… as long as we do not do any strenuous activity, I am free to stay here." Kuroko nodded.

"Huh? What is that?" Kagami was confused with Kuroko's weird answer.

"Yamamoto-san warned me that Kagami-kun could be getting too excited every now and then, so he also asked me to watch over you when he was away," now Kuroko seemed amused as Kagami flushed.

_Aaaah! That old man! Saying such unnecessary thing again!_—Kagami was quite embarrassed and flustered. So he excused himself to get those games (and to compose himself _again_) before he went back to the living room and set the video game.

"We can add studying session too after the game," Kuroko suggested.

"Eeeeeh?" and Kagami willfully protested. It was Sunday after all.

"Who knows, maybe I can help you with something and you can do the same for me. What is your least favorite subject, Kagami-kun?" Kuroko then took the controller as Kagami put in the CD.

"That will be Japanese Lit. and Language. I will never get along with that bastard, seriously," Kagami huffed.

Kuroko visibly rolled his eyes. "But you live in Japan…"

"And math. That bitch is an enemy too," Kagami growled.

"Well, math is indeed rather difficult, but it's necessary…" Kuroko responded wryly.

"And the English language! I never thought Japanese's English would betray me…!" Now, Kagami knew he became overly dramatic, but it was a necessity to point.

"Aren't you an American returnee?" This time, Kuroko sounded exasperated.

"But! Japanese's English is unnecessarily hard! Who cares about grammar or spelling as long as you can properly transfer message by speaking?" Kagami was complaining at this point, and Kuroko could only let out a long sigh in resignation.

"Except for math, I may be able to help you," the bluenet offered then.

"Really? That's great!" Kagami beamed, positively believing that this time, he might be able to understand the lessons better if Kuroko explained it to him.

"Now, game first," Kuroko pointed at the screen and Kagami grinned, feeling totally challenged.

"Bring it on!"

* * *

**~Kagami x Kuroko~**

* * *

After the game, Kagami and Kuroko really studied. Well, Kuroko insisted because teachers at Teikou tended to give the students a lot of home works at the end of the week to keep them studying at some point even though it should be for _playing_ and resting.

"Teikou is very strict about this, huh?" Kagami stared at the piles of books on Kuroko's side with a bead of sweat rolling down his cheek, apparently awed by the fact that Kuroko actually brought so many reference books for his own home work. "Where did you even put them before?" he conspicuously glanced at the small bag Kuroko had brought with him from home, looking silly.

"Well, Teikou is quite prestigious, so the responsibility of its students is also quite heavy. If we do not pass the academic tests, we are not allowed to attend club practice," Kuroko answered absentmindedly as he was trying to solve the math problem on the paper.

"Hmm… then how do you do it every day? Isn't it really hard to compartment the time for club activities and studying?" Kagami asked, sounding wondering and curious.

"Well, we… _our team_ usually have study session together twice a week. In our basketball club, there are some very smart people that can help us study, like Akashi-kun, Midorima-kun and Momoi-san," Kuroko answered again as he finally found the formula to solve the problem.

"I see… but you didn't participate this week," Kagami stated and Kuroko blinked at that, looking upward at the red haired teen rather surprised.

"Eh?"

"Well, you still have so much work to do today, so I assumed you didn't participate in those study sessions this week?" Kagami seemed unsure now.

"I did, though. These home works were given at Friday. We do not have study session at Friday and Saturday because Teikou basketball club is always full of activities and practices on those days," Kuroko answered slowly.

"Well, aren't you guys very serious…?" Kagami looked another way, seeming uncomfortable for some reasons.

"It is for our own good after all," Kuroko looked back at the math problem. The teachers and his parents said so, so it was probably true. But, Kuroko couldn't help feeling unfulfilled. He didn't know why. He thought that he had a satisfying life all these times, so what was it that he felt still lacking?

"You guys play around too? Like going on a trip or an outing with friends?" Kagami rested his cheek on his palm now, looking at Kuroko with unreadable eyes.

"Um, sometimes. We will go somewhere after practice to eat ice cream together… or have dinner together. As for the trip, there is training camp and school trip," Kuroko tried to list what he and his friends, the GoM, had done together. It was quite happy and fun. It was pleasing too for getting experience.

"Aah, I know. I and my friends in LA also did something like that and it was entertaining." Kagami nodded, looking slightly nostalgic. "How about girlfriends? You have any?"

Kuroko was taken aback at the sudden question. He didn't think that Kagami would actually ask him something like that. Though, he had an inkling on why, judging from the tentative motion and tone… and his face. God, Kagami looked very endearing when he was trying not to blush, albeit already failing so bad in concealing the rosiness that tinted his cheeks.

Apparently, Kagami took Kuroko's silence as a sign of reluctance to answer so he raised his hand. "Sorry! That went too far. You don't have to answer if you think it's too personal. Ah, dang it. Sometimes I forget that I'm in Japan now…"

Kuroko couldn't help chuckling slightly at Kagami's frantic explanation. "No, it is alright. I was just surprised…" he coughed a few times to tone down his amusement. Really, Kagami's reaction was just too cute for his own good. "If you mean girlfriends as in 'dating' relationship, I have none. But, I do have someone I like," he softened his expression now.

Kagami looked odd for a moment before he looked down. "I see… I bet she's cute, huh?" Somehow, his voice wavered slightly as well. Kuroko knew why. Kagami's expression was like an open book to read after all.

"It is not a 'she'," Kuroko admitted, looking aside slightly, not wanting to see the shock on Kagami's face. Though, he already knew that Kagami wouldn't be disgusted at his confession. After all, Kagami also…

"Is it Aomine?" Kagami suddenly guessed, sounding affirmative.

_Huh?_—Kuroko stopped dead in his reverie before he turned to face Kagami once more. Somehow, the red head looked rather animated.

"How…?"—_does it become Aomine-kun?_ The continuation was left unsaid because Kagami hurriedly cut.

"I knew it!" As if Kagami was triumphant for answering a million dollar question, he was bouncy. "I've been wondering for awhile now… so that's really how it is. Don't worry! It's not too uncommon! I think Aomine likes you a lot too!" Now he patted Kuroko's shoulder receptively.

"Ah, umm…" Kuroko didn't know what to say. Apparently Kagami had misunderstood Aomine and Kuroko's relationship since day one. No, maybe it was Kuroko who had misread the signal. With the way Kagami acted before, he thought that Kagami might like him…_like that_, but seeing him now, was it possible that Kagami was just being considerate because he thought Aomine and Kuroko had such bond?

_What a bummer…—_Kuroko sighed slightly in disappointment. He was so sure that his advance would be returned. Who would suddenly visit a friend they barely knew and insist hanging out together if there was no some kind of ulterior motive? Now Kuroko had to do something to hide his own interest towards Kagami so he wouldn't be suspicious.

Kagami was okay with other people with such interest, but it didn't mean he swung that way as well. Kuroko knew perfectly well that he liked boys more than girls in general, and even though Momoi liked him _like that_, he didn't—, _couldn't_ feel the same way about her. The closest one he could think of having such relationship with so far was Aomine, but Kuroko knew that Aomine loved women and big boobs very much, so it was impossible.

Ah, but there was Kise that might really-really like Kuroko and probably was willing to go out with him happily, but Kise was a model and was always surrounded by girls and his fans. It was in his nature to try to please people regardless his own need, and it could get troublesome if such scandal got out. Plus, Kuroko hated wearisome things. The risk was too great to consider him a potential boyfriend.

Midorima was too eccentric to deal with in daily basis, so Kuroko would have to pass that one. Murasakibara was basically an overgrown child with sadistic tendency if he was in the mood, and as for Akashi… Kuroko didn't even want to think about it. He was already too scared to consider the possibility.

But Kagami… even though Kuroko only met him a few times, and hadn't yet known him that well, Kuroko kind of _knew_ by instinct that he was a good guy. He had a big heart and an open mind, and even though he looked scary and boisterous at first glance, he was actually very gentle and considerate on the inside. Besides, he had some cute points to boot, like his blushing face for one. A nice guy like him must have been popular.

A guy like Kagami was rare these days. If Kuroko was allowed to, he wanted to be closer to him. He wanted to know why Kagami only lived with his caretaker and not his parents. He said his mom and dad worked overseas, but why did Kagami transfer alone to Japan? There seemed to be some kind of situation in his family, and Kuroko knew asking about that was crossing the line. He didn't want to pry and yet he was curious.

He just hoped that along the time, Kuroko would be given a chance to be on familiar terms with all of those things about Kagami. He couldn't do that if they weren't friends first. So… maybe Kuroko would become his friend first until he knew more about him and when that time came, if he still felt like this after knowing him enough, Kuroko would tell Kagami.

_I already like you…_

* * *

**~Kagami x Kuroko~**

* * *

"Thanks again for visiting and helping me with my home work, Kuroko," Kagami said, lifting his fist. "See you again soon?"

Kuroko seemed surprised as he saw the gesture, but then he smiled warmly before lifting his own fist and bumping it lightly on Kagami's. "Of course. Your Japanese Lit. and Langue needs much improvement after all."

"Tsk. Shut it," Kagami tried to scowl at the remark, but he ended up grinning stupidly instead. This meant he would see Kuroko again after all, even though he could only be _friends_ with him. He still wanted Kuroko's company after all.

"You can call my house anytime you like," Kuroko offered.

"Yeah, thanks for the number. And hurry buy a cell phone, so I can text and email you as well," Kagami smirked and Kuroko muttered lowly that sounded a lot like 'rich bastard' or something on that line.

Kagami closed the door after Kuroko turned to the first junction. He leaned his back on the door, feeling rather spent. They didn't even move around too much, but studying indeed always exhausted him more than playing basketball.

Kagami looked down at his fist as he recalled his conversation with Kuroko earlier. He had taken a risk to ask if Kuroko had any girlfriend, already suspecting that Kuroko and Aomine were more than just basketball partners, and when Kuroko confirmed that there was someone he liked and it was a 'he'… Kagami just knew that his hunch was correct.

There was nothing Kagami could do if Kuroko and Aomine were an item, but… it still hurt a little to be one-sidedly in love with someone who already had someone else. Though, Kagami didn't intend to tell him if his feeling would only become a burden for Kuroko, so… it was alright if he loved him silently, right?

Kagami smiled softly before he lifted that fist and kissed his own knuckle, remembering the delight he felt when Kuroko' fist collided gently with his own. "I am going to treasure our relationship as friends…" Kagami decided. And for that, he needed to get better.

Moreover, he might know more about Kuroko after he was back in the game. Besides, he really wanted to try those Generation of Miracles. He would challenge them and he would bring them down.

* * *

**~Kagami x Kuroko~**

* * *

Aomine was playing one on one with Kise when he saw someone familiar in the distance. "Tetsu?" He straightened his body, looking at a distance.

"Eh? Kuroko-chi? Where?" Kise was distracted from his own drive such that the ball went out of control. "Aaah! And that's a nice maneuver too!" he whined. "Sheesh, Aomine-chi! You sidetracked me!"

"No, you idiot! There! That's Tetsu, right?" Aomine slapped Kise's blond head while pointing at the residence area direction. There was indeed a short blue haired teen getting out of one of the houses.

"No way! Kuroko-chi's house is here?!" Kise widened his eyes in surprise.

"No, I don't think so. He often goes here to play street ball, but he always goes to the station to go home after that," Aomine frowned. "I think… _huh_?" he then blinked as he saw another person there, coming out from the house.

_Red, dark brown hair… isn't that—?_

"Are? It's Kagami-kun!"

Kise's exclaim surprised Aomine very much. "Kise, you know that guy?!"

"Yeah," Kise nodded. "At the practice match against Fukuda Shōgō two weeks ago, Kagami-kun came to watch. Kuroko-chi introduced us… um, and he kind of got hurt because of my fans and had to be hospitalized…"

"Huh?" Aomine didn't understand.

"His leg injury, his stitches were torn when I pulled him to run away from my fans," Kise scratched his cheeks slightly, apparently feeling guilty. "He said he was fine, but that must have been painful. I still feel so bad about it. So, he lives around here, huh…? Maybe I will visit him after this," now Kise looked determined.

"Don't decide by yourself," Aomine slapped his head again.

"Ouch! Aomine-chi, you meanie! That hurts!" Kise pouted at him, looking annoyed.

_I see… that guy lives in this neighborhood, huh?_—Aomine couldn't help thinking. Honestly, he felt awkward seeing that guy again after Kagami showed such large leg wound to him before. After all, Aomine was so insensitive for talking him into playing and challenging him… in such boasting manner even.

Just a bit, Aomine felt awful. Kagami must have been uncomfortable as well showing his wound. He must have wanted to play so badly as well at that time, but he couldn't with such condition. At first glance, Aomine knew that Kagami was good. Not as good as him, but he was close. He might even be better than Kise slightly. It was such a shame that he couldn't play at that moment.

_What could possibly cause such large wound? Accident?_—he did hear Kagami mentioned something about being in Japan only to recuperate…

"Ne, Aomine-chi,"

Kise's voice brought Aomine out from his reverie. "What?" Aomine drawled lazily at him.

"Why did Kuroko-chi come out from Kagami-kun's house…?" Kise tilted his head aside, looking confused.

"How should I know?" Aomine scowled. He wanted to know that too, damn it.

_Why does Tetsu seem very close to him even though they hardly met at all?—_Aomine was also curious.

"Also, Kuroko-chi said something strange after we got out from the hospital where Kagami-kun was treated," Kise seemed deep in thought. "He said that Kagami-kun liked Kuroko-chi's basketball play in different way… or something."

Aomine deepened his furrow hearing that, and then he noticed the way Kuroko smiled while looking at his fist as he walked away from the house. Suddenly a crazy idea fleeted through Aomine's head.

"No way… It's not like that, is it…?" Suddenly Aomine had a bad feeling about it.

"What?" Kise looked puzzled while Aomine covered his head.

"Akashi won't like this…"

"What is it, Aomine-chi?" Kise was getting even more mystified.

"Maybe we really should visit that Kagami, before Tetsu violates the rules Akashi had created for our basketball club…"

**End of Chapter 6**

**Tbc…**

* * *

**A/N: **Dun dun dun! And what rules are they? After this, Kagami has to face the GoM himself if he intends to pursue the 'friendship' with Kuroko *lol*. So… what do you think? I know, it's rather dull, and both Kuroko and Kagami misunderstood each other's feeling (ugh), but I can assure you, the next will be rather complicated with all the GoM showing up! Stay tuned!


	7. The Shaken Faith

**Disclaimer and Warning: **_**See chapter 1!**_

**A/N: **Sorry for the wait! Thanks for all the reviews, faves and alerts! Please enjoy this new chapter especially made for YOU!

* * *

**Chapter 7: **_**The Shaken Faith**_

* * *

"Kagami, can you buy drinks for the regulars?"

One of his seniors in Shōei basketball club asked when Kagami was studying some strategies in the papers Kiyoshi gave him the previous day. He looked up from the copies and nodded. "Kay. How many should I buy?"

"With all the starting and bench members…" the dark haired seniors trailed as he counted before he grinned. "Twenty, give or take."

"Ugh, so many… those drinks will be hard to bring alone. Should I ask the manager to help?" Kagami muttered as he stood up.

"You can't, obviously. You want to make a girl bring such heavy items? Go find some first years to help you!" the senior huffed while giving him a hard slap on his back.

Kagami grunted at the sting, rather annoyed. If there were free first years insight, why did he order Kagami to go in the first place? Just because Kagami couldn't be a starting member since he was still recuperating, it didn't mean he could be subjected to such seniority bullshit! Even Kiyoshi didn't treat him like that and he was the captain…!

Alright, former captain, since Kiyoshi had officially resigned from basketball club. Well, he still came by time to time to see how the basketball club was doing, and sometimes giving them some pointers on strategies or training menus, but he didn't participate in any practice match and the upcoming preliminary for the winter championship.

"Why didn't he stay until the end, I wonder…? Even the other _senpais_ decided to stay until the winter championship is over," Kagami mumbled quietly as he walked towards the nearest convenient store from the school, since their school vending machine didn't sell bottled sport drink his senior wanted.

_Last summer, Shōei was placed third in the national championship, so this team is undeniably strong. Why won't Kiyoshi-senpai strengthen it more? Who knows, right? They even might get first place in winter…_—Kagami entered the convenient store and headed to the refrigerator before he scanned the contents to find the intended brand.

Kagami then asked for the shopkeeper to box the drink for twenty bottles before he paid at the cashier. As he lifted the box and tested his step (because his foot could hurt if the weight was too much), he noticed that there was some kind of commotion outside the store.

"—a sec! Wait a minute, Hyuuga-kun! What do you mean you're done?!" A short-haired brunet girl gripped at a boy's arm. Both were probably middleschoolers as well, judging from their uniforms.

"That means what its exact mean! I'm done! I'm quitting basketball!" the boy said, his voice hard and cracking, his expression contorting in anguish. Even behind his glasses, Kagami could see how the bespectacled teen's eye glazed, looking almost crying.

"What are you saying?! After all you have done to get better…!" the girls still protested.

"It doesn't mean anything, okay!?" the boy, Hyuuga, shouted loudly, startling the girl. "Let go, Aida. I'm done with basketball! It's finished. The championship is over. No matter how hard I tried for our team, there are always some better teams out there. All our hard work doesn't mean a thing without any winning. I… I'm sick of it. I quit."

The girl, Aida, clearly looked shaken at Hyuuga's words before her grip gradually loosened. She released the arm and her hands fell limply on her side.

Hyuuga clenched his fist. "Thank you for everything until now. I won't be coming over to your place anymore. Good bye," he said, gritting his teeth and not even once looking at her before turning away and walked out of her.

_Wow… lovers' quarrel? Ah, but the guy mentioned about quitting basketball… maybe they're in the same club… his manager?_—Kagami wondered as he stepped outside the convenient store. The air around the girl seemed very dark and gloomy. Maybe he should ask if she was okay….

"…idiot…!"

"Eh?" Kagami looked upward at the girl who dug her nails in her own arm. She bit her lower lip until it broke skin and blood trickled down from the wound. Her expression was close to tears. "Um…" Kagami felt very awkward now, not knowing what to do.

"Fine, do whatever you want, you spineless loser! As if I'd care! Go DIE in the sewer, you MORON!" the girl suddenly screamed in frustration before she ran away to the opposite direction of the boy, shocking the hell out of Kagami.

"W-what…?" Kagami was confused, sweat dripping from his face. He was so sure that she was about to cry just then, but she exploded in fury instead. Women were indeed an enigma. Kagami would never understand them.

* * *

**~Kagami x Kuroko~**

* * *

"Aah, how boring…" Aomine sighed deeply as he stared at the other first stringers that sprinted from side to side of the court. Tetsu was there as well, trying his hardest to break his time while keeping up with the rest that were evidently faster than him.

"What are you doing, loitering lazily on the courtside, Aomine?" Someone came up from behind and gave him a light slap on the back of his head.

"Ow!" Aomine yelped as he looked back, meeting eyes with a familiar face. "What… Nijimura-senpai, what was that for?" he grunted, nursing his abused top.

"That's for you skipping the basic practice, you idiot! Look at your partner! He's so diligent in his training!" Nijimura huffed, pointing at Tetsu at the distance. His slightly longer dark hair fell onto his forehead as he bent down, showing his displeased expression to Aomine.

"Aw, sheesh… just let it go. Even without such extreme training, we're still unbeatable," Aomine drawled, scratching his neck indolently.

"What's with that disrespectful way of speaking, you insolent _kouhai_…!?" Nijiimura looked pissed before he caught Aomine's neck and gave him a knuckle attack on his cranium from above.

"Ow, ow, ow! I give! I give!" Aomine shrieked while struggling atrociously before Nijimura stopped his punishment because Akashi approached them.

"It's been awhile, Nijimura-senpai," the red haired Teikou basketball captain greeted politely as Nijimura loosened his hold on Aomine's neck.

"Yo, Akashi, how is it doing?" Nijimura asked, lifting his hand to give his regard.

"It's been great," Akashi replied with a small smile.

"You may want to increase the discipline on the team, though. One of your boys is being lazy here," Nijimura gave Aomine a forehead flick now, causing him to yelp.

"Ah, jeez, senpai! Let go already!" Aomine was still trying to free himself from Nijimura's grip, getting increasingly goaded. But for some reason, the older guy was strongly obstinate, even though it had been almost a month since he last showed up in basketball practice.

_Is he secretly training or what?_—Aomine couldn't help scowling inwardly as he kept squirming uselessly.

"Well, it doesn't matter. Although I do want Daiki to be more serious with training and practice, he still always performs great in every match. As long as he scores more and brings us to victory, he can do whatever he wants in his free time," Akashi said, looking considerably content.

"Hmm… but he's not free now, is he?" Nijimura pointed out, poking at Aomine's cheek. "It's time for the club practice."

"Indeed. Daiki, if you don't move now, I'll triple your menu," Akashi smiled sweetly at Aomine whose heart sank and face paled immediately at the threat.

"You can't be serious…!" Aomine panicked inwardly.

_This Demon Captain…!_

"It seems that things are changing after I rarely come here…" Nijimura said, his eyes darting around the gym. He seemed to spot Midorima practicing his unbelievably long shots, Kise practicing his offensive moves with some other first stringers and Murasakibara eating his snack on the bench. He visibly frowned then. "Don't you think they are more strewn than usual?" he asked then, turning to face Akashi again.

"Well, life is dynamic, senpai. But everyone always does their best to win, so you don't have to worry. Teikou's victory is guaranteed," Akashi gave Nijimura a confident smile, but the older teen just sighed, releasing Aomine _(finally!) _who was still in shock at his tripled menu, before he stood and dusted his clothes.

"Well, if you say so, but at this rate…" Nijimura paused before he shrugged, leaving his words hanging as he walked away.

"What is wrong with him?" Aomine huffed, extra annoyed because now he had to do the basic training thrice much as the others. All because Nijimura caught him and reported him to Akashi. Damn him. "He won't come out to any match anymore, will he?" he turned to Akashi and the shorter red head chuckled slightly.

"Senpai is quite _busy_ after all," Akashi responded vaguely, but Aomine felt that his hunch was most definitely accurate. "What's wrong, Daiki? You haven't moved yet. Want me to quintuple your menu instead?" Akashi then turned, facing him still with his _creepy_ smile again.

"No, dear God! Please!" He squeaked in apprehension. "I get it already! I'll go now, sheesh!" Aomine turned around and ran to the court, joining the other first stringers to practice together.

"_Well, if you say so, but at this rate…"_

_What was it that he wanted to say, earlier…?_—Somehow, Aomine was bugged by Nijimura's concerned gaze as he walked away.

* * *

**~Kagami x Kuroko~**

* * *

"Kuroko-chiiiii!" Kise launched himself at Kuroko who only dodged slightly because he knew the blond's intention on hugging him in public. Kise stumbled and bumped Aomine instead, who immediately throttled him for being so noisy.

"Huwaaah! Aomine-chi is so meaaan!"

"Kise-kun, stop crying," Kuroko sighed, adjusting his gym bag so he could move more freely on the way out of the school.

"But, but, Kuroko-chiii! Aomine-chi is so barbaric…!" Kise sniffled, drying his crocodile tears.

"It's your own damn fault for being so careless, moron!" Aomine stretched the blond's cheeks in palpable annoyance.

"Uwaaa! My cheeks are gonna teaaaar!"

"Both of you, stop creating disturbance," Midorima reprimanded from their side, looking irritated as hell. "Lucky Akashi isn't with us right now since he is in a strategy meeting with Momoi and the coach. If he was, he'd have your heads." He huffed as he strolled passing them.

"What is his problem?" Aomine scowled at the bespectacled green haired teen that seemed to pretend to not knowing them all. The tan ace was still holding the blond who was sobbing quietly in his arms.

"Today is apparently a bad day for cancer," Murasakibara munched at his snack, looking disinterested, but sometimes Kuroko wondered why the oversized violet haired teen could easily tell the reason of why someone was in a bad mood.

"I see…" Aomine dropped his body on Kise's shoulders that seemed to resist under its weight now.

"W-wait, Aomine-chi…! You're heavy…!"

"Tetsu, wanna eat outside today? I'm hungry," Aomine ignored Kise's whining and turned to face Kuroko instead.

"Ah, Aomine-chi, unfair! I wanna go eating together too!" Kise protested.

"I am sorry. I cannot go today," Kuroko responded evenly, also overlooking Kise's wail.

"You keep saying that every time we ask you out together. It's been a week. What's your excuse this time?" Aomine heaved out a sigh, looking disappointed. Well, Kuroko couldn't blame him. He indeed didn't make time to hang out together with the team this past week.

It was for a good reason, though. He simply made some time for Kagami, because his leg was doing very great lately, and if it was just light dribbling and shooting, Kagami could do it. Kuroko just wanted to play basketball with him, so he had made time to stop by the street ball court near Kagami's house every evening after practice to see him since a week ago.

"I want time for extra practice," Kuroko answered, not exactly lying, but he didn't really want to tell them with whom he was practicing.

"Then we can do it together before dinner. What if we go jointly, Kuroko-chi? Murasaki-chi wants to go as well?" Kise offered, turning his face to the tallest teen in their group.

"Nope~. It's troublesome," Murasakibara stated in bored look, sucking at his lollipop now.

"Wait, why did you decide to invite people as you like, Kise? I want to go with Tetsu only," Aomine knuckled the blond on his temples as Kise started to whine pitifully again.

Kuroko wanted to say no to it, but at this rate, they would get more suspicious and he really didn't want them to start following him around like stalkers. That is, _if they could_, since Kuroko's thin presence was very hard to follow, but by any pure chance, they might be able to and bust his secret practice with Kagami, so Kuroko didn't want to take the risk.

"Alright," Kuroko nodded after much consideration. He figured if he let them hang out with him once in awhile, they wouldn't bother him at _other _days.

"Yay!" Kise exclaimed happily, seeming to already forget that he wasn't invited.

"Jeez, fine then, Kise, you can tag along," Aomine agreed as well. "But you're paying for dinner."

"Whaaaaat?! That's so mean, Aomine-chiiii!" and Kise once again cried in complaint at the tan ace for bullying him so much. It was always funny seeing them like that, though.

Kuroko wondered if Kise or Aomine realized that they acted like a couple every now and then, but he doubted if they were in relationship. Akashi had ever mentioned that if they ever disturbed the practice with their couple's problem, he would quadruple their training menu. Though, Kuroko wasn't sure if the red headed captain was joking or being serious.

_I should call Kagami-kun before he waits for too long_—was fleeting in Kuroko's mind when they stopped by the convenient store to purchase some warm drink before heading to the nearest street ball court to the station.

* * *

**~Kagami x Kuroko~**

* * *

"Taiga, there's a phone call from Kuroko-kun," Yamamoto knocked at the door of his bedroom as Kagami was struggling with his English homework on his studying desk. As expected, the formal Japanese English was rather weird. It was different to just speaking English. Some phrases sometimes didn't make any sense to use in any context.

"Yeah, coming," Kagami gave up for a moment to take a break and answer the phone. He opened the door and received the wireless phone from Yamamoto and answered it. "Sup', Kuroko?"

"_Hello, Kagami-kun?"—_Kuroko's soft voice calling his name in Kagami's ear caused him to flush slightly. "_I just want to inform that I will not be able to come down to the court today. I have an outing with my friends."_

"O-oh, yeah… alright. I'm also in the middle of a war with my homework now, so I probably can't go there either…" Kagami couldn't help grinning sheepishly.

Damn. Kuroko was very considerate to even call him. He meant; it wasn't like they agreed to have rendezvous every evening since a week ago or anything. Kagami just assumed that if he went to that street ball court, he could see Kuroko or something. However, apparently Kuroko had especially made time to come there to meet him. It made Kagami very happy in more ways than one.

"_I see… Then, see you at Sunday. I will come over again for studying."_—Kuroko said flatly, but Kagami could almost see a hint of smile in his words. He was probably only teasing and yet Kagami wanted to entertain the idea.

"Oh man… another studying in Sunday? You're such a nerd," Kagami laughed in fond exasperation and it earned him a light chuckle from Kuroko. Ah, damn it! That really flattered him.

"_Tetsu, are you done with the phone call?"_

Kagami blinked as he heard another voice from the background aside the busy sound of cash register and people milling around. Kuroko might have called from a store or a shop. _And that voice…_—Kagami knew that voice. Apparently, Kuroko was with Aomine at that time.

A light twinge pricked Kagami's heart. He knew that Kuroko was with the other boy, but as expected for being one-sidedly in love, the jealousy came in the same package. "Ah, you're with Aomine, huh? Tell him I said hi," Kagami said, trying to control his voice not to waver.

"_Will do,"_—Kuroko replied slowly and gently before saying goodbye and ended the call.

Kagami pushed the end-call button as well before sighing. "Get a grip of yourself, Kagami Taiga. You and Kuroko are just friends," he said to himself before getting out of the room to put the phone back to its holder.

_Right… I'll watch all the tapes of Shōei previous matches that Kiyoshi-senpai lent me to study before going back to my stupid homework. Maybe I can contribute some strategies after I watch them all…_

Well, that was what Kagami's intention. However, when later he watched the tape and came across the match between Shōei and Teikou at the fourth tape, Kagami could only widen his eyes, stunned and speechless even, until an hour after the video was finished.

_No way…! Those monsters are still in middle school…?!—_Kagami didn't see Kuroko there. It seemed that he wasn't playing in that particular game, but now he knew why Kiyoshi decided to retire. _After such devastating defeat… senpai must have taken quite severe damage._

"_Basketball is fun! Let's play again some other times!"_

But, the Kiyoshi that Kagami saw playing street ball the first time they met was smiling. He even played a great one on one with Aomine afterwards. He remembered some upper classmen in his school call Kiyoshi the 'Iron Heart'.

_Even the Iron Heart needs time to recover, huh…?_—Kagami smiled ruefully. He understood. The Generation of Miracle, Kuroko's team, was indeed spectacularly strong. All of them were monsters. No wonder their policies were so strict.

_But—_Kagami smirked slightly, completely worked up. _The stronger the opponent, the better, right?_

Right now was still impossible, but after his leg was fully healed, Kagami would definitely challenge them. "Yosh, I'm getting excited!"

"Taiga, finish your homework first before playing outside!" Yamamoto, who apparently heard his exclamation, shouted from the kitchen, completely blowing off Kagami's fuse at the reminder of his neglected homework.

Kagami groaned right away. "Alright! Okay! Sheesh, what are you, my mom?" He grumbled as he stomped back to his room. "Tomorrow then…" he pouted and sighed in resignation before he was back to his effort in finishing his _almost_ abandoned English work.

* * *

**~Kagami x Kuroko~**

* * *

"Eh…?" Kagami looked at the papers he just received from the captain. "W-what is this?" he asked the manager who apparently was still rather nervous talking to him on his side.

"U-um… this is the training menu for the regulars…" she replied timidly.

"What?" Kagami frowned slightly as he stared at the paper some more. Looking at every aspect, this training menu was ridiculously laid back! Weren't they about to enter the preliminary for the winter championship? Of course the basic training was important, but shouldn't they at least add some tricks and strategies into their formation if they wanted to defeat Teikou?!

"What is it, Kagami? You look dissatisfied," the captain seemed to notice Kagami's put out expression and raised his eyebrows at him.

"Uh, this kind of training… isn't it too… easy? I mean… I know Shōei is strong and was placed third in last summer national championship, but… I watched the video of the semifinal," at this point, the regulars' faces were turning sour and pale, but Kagami continued because he had to bring up the subject. "Looking at the result, shouldn't we at least add more collaborated strategies to defeat _them_?"

The entire club room went into silence. The atmosphere turned heavy so suddenly and Kagami didn't know why their mood gloomed to this extent. "Heh," the captain chuckled darkly as a response, causing Kagami to furrow his brow. "Kagami is a returnee, so it can't be helped that he doesn't know," he said, his tone belittling and Kagami didn't like it at all.

"What does that even mean?" Kagami almost growled, narrowing his eyes at his senior.

"Generation of Miracle from Teikou is the champion by default," the captain said, his gaze turning bitter and dead. "There's no use struggling against those monsters. They are undefeatable. We only aim for second place if we're lucky to face them in final this winter."

Kagami's frown deepened. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"It means exactly what it means. There's no point preparing to face them. It doesn't matter either way since we can't stop them. So, we'll just have to abandon the match if we ever face them again to save our energy," he explained in dismissing manner.

Kagami's blood instantly rose to his head as he stood and grabbed the captain's collar and yanked him close. "Are you seriously saying that?" he snarled angrily, glaring furiously at him while the other club members instantly stood up in alarm, shouting at him to stop. Some even tried to hold him back.

"No matter what we do, we're still going to get annihilated by them like last summer! That's the reality! Those guys aren't human! They have talents of becoming a god in basketball! They are impossible to defeat!" the captain yelled back at him, his voice cracking, the same way as that boy, Hyuuga, whom he met the other day that decided to quit basketball.

So much hopelessness… so much pain and despair of something that he couldn't control…

But that wasn't right! That couldn't be right!

"Until we go and fight them once again in the match, we don't know that!" Kagami barked, clenching his fist more at his senior's collar, disregarding the others yelling at the two of them to cut it out.

"But we do know!" Captain hollered even louder, his face contorting in resigned fate. "We're not stupid to fight a losing battle, Kagami… There's so much difference between us and them! So much…! There's no other way but to give up and live with it…!"

"How can you say such a depressing thing…?! Every match is like a basketball! You're sometimes up and sometimes down! Even Kiyoshi-senpai didn't give up until the end of that match, right…!? Why are you giving up before facing them again?! Are you trying to abandon Kiyoshi-senpai's effort and belief?!" Kagami gritted his teeth, frustrated beyond belief.

"But he resigned from our club, didn't he?! He gave up too after tasting such defeat!" the captain screamed stridently in upset tone.

Upon hearing that, Kagami snapped. "You don't know anything about Kiyoshi-senpai!" he shouted in total aggravation. "He wanted to fight alongside you guys! He wanted to! But he can't because he—!" Kagami stopped dead mid-yelling as he remembered what he had promised the older boy.

"_Senpai, why did you resign from the club earlier than the other senpais?" Kagami had asked at one afternoon, a few days after he watched that video, when he and Kiyoshi had lunch together. "Is it because of that crushing loss against the Generation of Miracle from Teikou?"_

_Kiyoshi looked taken aback as he was about to chew his bread for a moment, before he gulped and chuckled sheepishly, putting his lunch down. "Damn, you saw that match?" He looked rather uncomfortable as he asked._

"_Didn't you lend me the video three days ago?" Kagami looked at him weirdly. He had thought before that this brunet senior of his was a strange airhead, but he didn't expect that he was scatterbrained to such extent._

"_Oh, right… that match is in one of those tapes, huh…?" Kiyoshi laughed for awhile before he sighed. "Well, to answer your question, that could be it, one of the reasons… but it's not just that," he looked afar then to the horizon, his face turning solemn with deep sadness glazing his dark chocolate orbs._

"_Senpai…?" Kagami called, since Kiyoshi suddenly got quiet, and it was almost two minutes and yet he didn't seem about to continue his line of words._

"_Last summer… just before the summer break ends… my parents…."_

"_Eh…?" Kagami widened his eyes as he heard it._

"_But it's a secret for the club members, kay? I don't want to trouble them with this…"_

"But he—what?! The hell is he making excuse now?! He's just running away as well!"

Kagami jerked out of his recollection as he heard the captain's loud query and accusation. He snarled at the older boy again before shoving him away, looking down at him distastefully. "You're right. That's just an excuse to stop fighting. I guess I was wrong for jumping the gun so soon. Japanese basketball is _just like this_ after all." He sneered.

"Ka-… Kagami…!" the others looked at him with bewildered, outrageous expression.

"There's no point of me fighting for this basketball club if the members don't even have a will to fight in the first place." Kagami yanked himself roughly away from the hands of the club members that were holding him down. "I quit." He declared coldly before he walked out of the clubroom while slamming the door shut.

* * *

**~Kagami x Kuroko~**

* * *

Kagami massaged his temples in incoming headache as he sat alone on the bench of the empty street ball court near his home. He was self-reflecting… Okay, he was pissed off at himself for being so hotheaded and idiotic.

'_I quit' my ass…! How am I supposed to enter official match without being in an official basketball club?_—Kagami hated himself for his short temper. True, he was greatly disappointed by his upperclassmen and his fellow club members' pessimistic ideas about facing the GoM again, but if he was the one who quitted the club, there was no meaning of him entering one in the first place, right?

"Ah, jeez… even after Kiyoshi-senpai said such thing to me especially…!" Kagami felt like banging his head on the nearest wall. But since there was no wall around in sight, he thought the ground would do, though if he had to bend down for that, he'd rather not roll on the ground just to harm himself because he would look extra foolish and foolhardy even more.

Kagami let out a long suffering sigh at the response of his '_I've let Kiyoshi-senpai down…' _thought.

"_My parents passed away in an accident last summer. Now, I live with my grandparents, but they are already very old, so I need to take care of them as well in return. I can't really go to club because the house is quite far. Since there's only half a year of middle school left, it's too troublesome to change school, so… I guess I will leave the basketball club in you and the others' care now, Kagami. What happened at the semifinal match last summer was a great blow to us as basketball players… but with the addition of you as a force in the team, I believe our basketball club will survive. I know it seems kind of a lot to ask, but… would you please have their backs, Kagami?"_

Kiyoshi was smiling when he uttered his last request as a former captain of Shōei basketball club, and Kagami had so confidently said 'yes' to that request. But then he had to run his stupid mouth with his moronic idealism and this happened. He was such an idiot.

Kagami sighed deeply again, totally bemused. "What should I do…?"

"Kagami-kun?"

Kagami looked up from his palms as he heard the familiar voice. He was immediately greeted with the sight of Kuroko, who since God knew when already stood in front of him, bending slightly and looking at Kagami's face, his eyes almost shining like aquamarine in the darkening court and Kagami could see the worry in his gaze.

"Kuroko… I didn't realize you were there." Kagami forced a smile, but Kuroko seemed to notice it.

"What's wrong?" he asked. Even though he seemed emotionless, his smooth voice carried the concern to the surface and abruptly Kagami was reminded of that mysterious guy he met at the plane when he was flying to Japan a few months back.

_Oh, right… that man also has light blue hair and aquamarine colored eyes…_

"Kagami-kun…?"

Kagami closed his eyes before he surged forward to lean his head on Kuroko's shoulder. His action apparently surprised Kuroko, but the smaller boy didn't move away and his hands seemed to instinctively rise and latch onto Kagami's arms.

"Um… Kagami-kun…?" Kuroko sounded slightly mystified as he called him once again and Kagami could only sigh slightly in relief after inhaling Kuroko's calming scent, partly because he was glad that he had someone to lean on, and partly because Kuroko seemed to have that kind of effect on people just by staying beside them.

"Just for awhile…" Kagami whispered quietly, immersing himself with Kuroko's peaceful air while his hands slowly went up to envelope Kuroko's waist and back, holding him closer. "Just let me stay like this for awhile…"

**End of Chapter 7**

* * *

**A/N: **Alright… apparently I decided to disappoint Kagami with his chicken basketball club after Kiyoshi retired (no offense to Shōei). Although in canon Kiyoshi really lives with his grandparents, I don't really know what happens to his parents, so I just assume they died here. Oh, the drama, unstable teens are indeed very interesting to write. So, I also put the GoM members on screen, but some of them haven't yet met Kagami and as per some persistent requests, I postpone the 'confrontation' between Aomine-Kise and Kagami to a more greater scale of complication later which probably will include Akashi as well. Special on-screen time for Nijimura (even though I didn't exactly plan him to appear at all originally) because my best friend loves him and insist me on using him in the fic (Done, hon, hope you-and the readers- LOVE it). So… feed back? *puppy eyes*


	8. The Calling

**Disclaimer and Warning: _See Chapter 1_**

**A/N: **I am sorry for the very long wait. Thank you for all the reviews and support. I know the last chapter was rather depressing, but I hope this chapter can make up for it. Here, enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 8: _The Calling_**

* * *

Kagami and Kuroko were sitting across from each other at the square table for two in Maji Burger near the clear glass window on the corner. They were content in comfortable silence. Kagami was eating his double cheese burger while Kuroko was quietly drinking his vanilla shake.

At first glance, they seemed like a normal pair of friends eating dinner together in a fast-food joint, but it was only for the eyes of the passerby and the other customers that weren't familiar with them, since something unbelievably strange was going on at this moment. Could anyone guess what it was?

Yes, Kagami was eating in _normal_ portion, unlike the usual where Kagami would have mountains of burgers in front of him while stuffing the food into his mouth like a starving squirrel. Kuroko was honestly surprised when he saw the standard portion of a double cheese burger and a glass of cola that the red head had ordered earlier.

_Something is wrong with Kagami-kun_—was the thought that kept swirling inside Kuroko's head. Kuroko didn't show it much in his expression, but he was worried about his friend. It was very unsettling seeing the usually passionate Kagami in a depressing mood.

"_Let me stay like this for the time being…"_

Kuroko recalled the way Kagami held him just thirty minutes earlier at the street basket court in the park near Kagami's house.

_When Kuroko saw the red head from the road, huddled on the bench covering his face as if he were crying, Kuroko felt his heart sink. He didn't know what happened, but Kagami looked afflicted, as if he were in a deep trouble with no way out. Kuroko didn't want to see him like that, so without thinking he had run to enter the court, approached Kagami and then called his name._

_When Kagami lifted his face and found him, he neither flinched nor looked surprised. Kuroko didn't know if Kagami heard his voice or if it was just coincidence that he looked upward just after Kuroko called him. It was kind of hard to figure out with how used Kuroko was to being ignored. But, Kuroko _did know_ one thing._

_Kagami apparently had no energy left to feel surprised by Kuroko's sudden appearance near him. He seemed kind of bemused, deeply preoccupied with his own mind. But then, Kagami forced a smile as he called Kuroko's name._

_Kagami-kun shouldn't have forced a smile to anyone–__was the first thought that entered Kuroko when he saw it._

_Right after, Kagami leaned forward and Kuroko was honestly taken aback when the taller red head suddenly rested his head on Kuroko's shoulder, Kagami's hands slipping on Kuroko's side, covering his waist and back and then embracing him as if Kuroko was someone dear to Kagami. Kuroko's face heated and his heart rate increased rapidly, and he was sure it pounded so hard such that if there were people at the other end of the court, they would hear it._

_Kagami must have heard it too, but the red head didn't mention it and just held him tighter, until Kuroko had to reach for him too, holding onto him for leverage because he didn't trust his legs not to wobble at that moment. Kagami's body was so warm, his arms enveloping him strongly, his breath puffing quietly near his ticklish neck and Kuroko almost shuddered feeling the heat of Kagami's exhalation on his skin even behind his light blue scarf._

_It was like… a moment of weakness that Kagami showed him. Kuroko had no idea what was wrong, but Kagami was not a type of person that would show this side of him to someone that he didn't trust. Having been one of those people that was allowed to see him vulnerable kind of pleased Kuroko, but the bigger part of Kuroko, the rational one, was more concerned to the fact that Kagami had been distressed at all._

_What can possibly bother Kagami-kun to this extent?—__Kuroko certainly wanted to know. If he could do something about it, he wanted to help. However, Kagami kept silent and they stayed in that position for a few minutes. After Kagami seemed to calm enough, he slowly released Kuroko's body, to Kuroko's unspoken disappointment. After all, who wouldn't be happy getting embraced by their crush?_

_"Sorry, Kuroko. I'm fine now. Let's go eat at Maji. I'm hungry."_

_Kagami had grinned again after that. It was still rather stiff, but it wasn't forced like before. Kuroko sighed slightly in relief. Did he help at some point? He still didn't know what had troubled Kagami, but at least if he could be there when Kagami needed a place to lean on, Kuroko would be satisfied with it… for now._

"_Yes, let's do that."_ _Kuroko had agreed and accompanied Kagami to Majiba_.

However, seeing Kagami's order at this very moment, it seemed that Kuroko had completely underestimated the depth of Kagami's problem. The red head had lost some appetite! It must have been quite big if the stress even caused the glutton to lose his will to eat.

Kuroko was truthfully very concerned. Of course, they had only known each other for some months, only met a few times and those meetings were not exactly epic like in the movies. However, for Kuroko… those insignificant meetings were very important, and even though his feeling for the red head was one-sided, Kuroko only wanted to stay together, no matter if he was just _a friend_ to Kagami. Kuroko still wanted to help him as much as he could; to see Kagami smile and laugh in spirit, his eyes alight in childish joy as he saw the good basketball game.

"Kagami-kun," Kuroko couldn't hold down his curiosity it any longer. He needed to hear some answers now. "What happened?"

Kagami paused mid biting his burger and slowly glanced up at Kuroko who looked at him evenly. The tall red head resumed his biting and chewing until he gulped down the food before putting down his half eaten burger. Kuroko noted that he ate slower than usual as well.

"It's nothing," Kagami answered after seeming to consider. "It's just a problem at school." He gave Kuroko a small smile and Kuroko knew he shouldn't pry, but if he wanted to help Kagami, he had to.

"I know this is not my business, but it pains me seeing Kagami-kun so… gloomy. If there is something I can do to help, please do not hesitate to ask me for it," Kuroko stated monotonously before he took another suck of his shake.

Kagami looked stunned for a moment before he chuckled. "Thanks. Then let me take you on that offer."

Kuroko didn't expect that Kagami would take it so well. He was almost certain that Kagami would be offended and lash out at him for being meddlesome, but man… Kagami was more unpredictable than he had thought. Kuroko realized that he still had ways to go before he understood Kagami completely.

"Be my guest, Kagami-kun," Kuroko smiled encouragingly. "Anything for you."

Kagami finished his burger before he started speaking. "Have you ever felt so disappointed in something that you really respect and trust wholeheartedly?"

Kuroko paid attention to Kagami's hunched form. He hid the lower half of his face with his joined hands which elbows were supported by the flat table. Kagami's eyes were fixated on the wooden surface, seeming to follow the wood-line pattern in total interest. In reality, Kuroko knew that Kagami was probably far-flung in his head, trying to perform words that could express his problem without revealing too much.

"Are you disappointed in something?" Kuroko didn't reply Kagami's question because it wasn't about himself, but Kagami.

"When my parents decided to send me back to Japan, I was really upset. I expected that they would at least understand that basketball is very important to me, that they would trust me to take care of myself when I was hurt and had to recuperate _there_. But instead, they decided that my friends were too rowdy for me and that they would cause me to get injured repeatedly in the future, so they cut me out of them by sending me away, back to Japan where my parents thought it would be safe. I understand that they only want to keep me from getting hurt again and I respect their decision. Still, I at least expect that one of them would be there with me, you know. I know they are busy, but I only ask for their attention, only for a little while, and yet… they decided that their work is too important to leave alone even if it's for me.

"I was very disappointed that I couldn't spend more times with them. More than getting injured, I was dejected that I would have to be alone facing this trial in life." Kagami closed his eyes, inhaling deeply before letting it go slowly.

Kuroko was silent, taking Kagami's confession word to word to understand if there was a hidden meaning, somewhere, but he didn't find any. From what he heard so far, Kuroko understood that Kagami was pretty lonely. His parents were worried about him, but they were apparently too busy to give him some attention.

"Still, I know they love me very much, just like I love them," Kagami continued, opening his crimson eyes again. This time, Kuroko didn't see any doubt in his statement. He believed sincerely that what he said was true. "Though I wish for them to be there with me, I know they only preferred what was best for me, so I buried all my dissatisfaction and went with their wish. I came to Japan in hope to heal quickly and then play basketball again in formal court with new friends."

At this point, Kagami smiled, but a few seconds later, his smile faded and his expression once again darkened. "However, once again I expect too much. I am still too naïve. I read and heard somewhere that Japanese people were hard-working and hard to give up once they decided their mind to succeed something. Even though there was this annoying seniority shit, I believed that the seniors would guide their juniors to their successful paths. But apparently, this doesn't apply to _everyone_ in general. It is common sense, the right thing to do, but some people just don't have the same idea as that idealism!"

At Kagami's raised voice and his contorted expression, Kuroko instantly understood what the problem was. "Kagami-kun had a fight with his senior." He nodded in understanding.

Kagami visibly winced before he looked upward at Kuroko in sore expression. "H-how could you possibly conjure up such conclusion from my explanation?"

"You seem angry most when you talked about seniority and how they do not seem to follow common sense," Kuroko exclaimed tonelessly and Kagami grinded his teeth in frustration because Kuroko could read him so easily. Well, Kuroko was extraordinarily observant, even Akashi said so, so he himself could be proud of his ability to read people.

"Bulls eye, that's how it is. I had a fight with a few of my seniors… and some guys in my year, even my juniors," Kagami grumbled, letting out a long suffering sigh.

Kuroko was sweating slightly as he heard that. "Just what did you do to offend so many people, Kagami-kun?" It wasn't simply about seniority, apparently.

"What the hell made you think that _I _was the one who did something?" Kagami growled, his gaze rather burning.

"Well, when a person did something that threatens his community order, the members of the community will retaliate, right? It is also a _common sense_." Kuroko shrugged, sucking a half-mouthful of shake from the white straw right after.

"Even though such _order_ is wrong?" Kagami still pouted, seeming disgruntled.

"Then, you can be Galileo and get executed until someone else proves the truth of your theory and belief," Kuroko chided slowly.

Kagami frowned deeply at that, looking completely baffled and mystified. "You don't make any sense, Kuroko."

Kuroko sighed slightly. "What I mean is; you will not be able to fight the community order by yourself. If you believe that you are the right one, at least gather some people that have the same idea as yours and prove that you are the right one by showing those people your sincerity. I am sure your determination and hard work to make true of your words will move their heart and they will eventually support your idealism," he explained.

"Showing... my determination…" Kagami widened his crimson eyes slightly, seeming astounded, and looked like he was remembering something before his expression softened. "I see…" he closed his eyes after that. "But what if I'm already cut out from that community?"

Kuroko looked upward slightly in surprise. By the look of Kagami's uneasy expression, this community was probably… a club? _No way. Kagami-kun quits his club? A basketball club?_—Kuroko gulped silently before he closed his eyes as well.

"Then… apology is the first step to reconciliation." Kuroko opened his eyes again conclusively. "Sometimes being the first one to apologize means being the winner, Kagami-kun."

Kagami was quiet after that. He stared at his cola for a few seconds before he lifted the glass and drank until the last drop. "I'll think about it."

Kagami said that, but Kuroko knew that Kagami probably wouldn't apologize because he wasn't in the wrong. Still, if Kagami quitted basketball club now, he wouldn't be able to enter official basketball match. He should have realized that being stubborn would do him nothing good. If it was a disagreement in the club about position or seniority, the club was stupid for giving up on Kagami's talent, but if it was something more fundamental… like their determination in being serious in basketball… then Kagami should be the one to do _something_ to change that gap, not the one to give up first.

_I hope Kagami-kun can realize that soon._

* * *

**~Kagami x Kuroko~**

* * *

"_Sometimes being the first one to apologize means being the winner, Kagami-kun…"_

Kagami stared dazedly at the closed gym from the rooftop. He imagined the club basket was practicing inside at the moment, and was itching to see and join them. Still, even though it had been almost three weeks since then, he hadn't yet made any attempt to make an apology to the club. Although he didn't file the official request to quit the club, he also didn't want to go back like a sore loser, showing everyone how he was regretting his own rash decision and action in the heat of anger.

"This is so _not_ cool…" Kagami groaned pitifully, hiding his peeved face behind crossed arms on the inner railing of the rooftop. He didn't know why he was being such a mulish ass. At this point, the preliminary match would soon start and the basketball club would have to participate without him. And after his doctor gave Kagami a green light to play basketball again as he pleased too…

Kagami had made some arrangements with a sport trainer in sport training facility in Shibuya to reshape his physical condition, so he could train his body without hindering his rehabilitation for basketball purpose. Now, how could he show the fruit of his effort if he wasn't even in the match?

This was getting absurd. Kagami knew he would lose more than his basketball club in this useless battle to defend his ego. He knew in his head that apologizing first was the right thing to do, but it still pissed him off that the basketball club also didn't make any effort to reach him either. So, it meant that they didn't need Kagami, right? How infuriating!

Kagami's blood began to boil again at the annoying thought. His seniors surely underestimated him just because he was still in rehab. He would definitely show them that he was the right one. Though… how he would do that was still fuzzy.

A few minutes flew by unnoticed while Kagami was raking his brain to find a solution to his problem. Then, he vaguely heard sound of the door to the stairs being opened and closed, but he wasn't in the mood to deal with anyone at that moment, so he ignored whoever it was that was approaching him.

"Being down isn't like you at all."

Kagami cringed slightly hearing such distinct voice. _Crap—_the word even crossed his jumbled mind. He knew that voice. The light tone and easy manner gave his identity away. Kagami slowly turned around and faced the person that had greeted him.

"Ki-…Kiyoshi-senpai…" Kagami nodded at the smiling older teen cautiously. Frankly, he wasn't ready to see him because he didn't know how to deal with Kiyoshi after Kagami had disappointed him by quitting the basketball club.

_He's surely angry…—_Kagami didn't want to see Kiyoshi mad at him. How should he explain his action then?

"What's with that scary face? Are you constipated?" Kiyoshi huffed out a small laugh, looking amused as Kagami fell over comically.

"How on earth does this expression look like that?!" Kagami couldn't help screeching at his senior. Seriously, why was Kiyoshi so quirky?

"Huh? You aren't?" Kiyoshi tilted his head aside slightly in incomprehension.

"Of course not! I'm in the middle of thinking!" Kagami snapped. He knew he shouldn't have taken his anger out on Kiyoshi, but his senior wasn't helping him at all by being so weird. Furthermore, he really didn't want to handle Kiyoshi and his oddity right now.

"I see… of course even Kagami has something to think about," Kiyoshi laughed again.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Kagami growled, rather aggravated. Just now, he felt like he was being insulted despite Kiyoshi's innocent tone.

"No, well… I stopped by the club yesterday, but Kagami wasn't there. Taking a break from basketball?" Kiyoshi didn't seem to notice that Kagami was upset with him, or he just plainly ignored it. But his question made Kagami grimace.

"Taking a break…" Kagami muttered bitterly. "Did they tell you that?"

"Nope, I just assumed. I didn't talk with the others. I figured they're unwilling to talk to me," Kiyoshi sighed slightly, still smiling but a little rueful.

"Why?" Now, it was Kagami's turn to be puzzled. Kiyoshi contributed a lot of strategies in the team formation and play despite already resigning from the club. It was perplexing if they didn't want to speak with him.

"Because I left?" Kiyoshi seemed a bit regretful at that.

"Kiyoshi-senpai has a family condition…" Kagami said slowly, furrowing his brow. "If you could stay, you wouldn't leave them."

"Yeah… it's unfortunate that I have no choice but to take a break because of my family circumstances. Still, all people have their own conditions, so does Kagami, right?" Kiyoshi turned to face Kagami again with a nice smile on his face.

Seeing Kiyoshi's understanding expression and trustful tone, Kagami widened his eyes slightly in shock. Kiyoshi's words stabbed him right in the heart.

_Senpai is right…! Senpai is the one that wants to stay most, but he can't because of his family situation… and I, what kind of condition I'm in at this moment? When my leg was injured and I couldn't play… weren't I the one that insisted on joining the club? Even though I realized that I could only watch for the time being… I just wanted to be part of basketball. I hoped to be healed quickly, so I would be able to dribble the basketball, run around the court and jump to shoot. I just wanted to play… and I'm the only one that stops myself from playing my beloved sport now!_

"Senpai… why do they give up before they face the GoM once again…? Don't they at least want to take revenge on what happened last summer?" Kagami asked, not knowing what to do to change their mind about it.

"I don't know. But, you can change that, can't you?" Kiyoshi reached out his hand, ruffling Kagami's red hair affectionately. "Seeing you work hard on your basketball to defeat the GoM, they might find a slither of hope to beat those miracle ones together with you."

Kagami made up his mind after witnessing such raw faith in Kiyoshi's eyes for his ability.

* * *

**~Kagami x Kuroko~**

* * *

Kagami took a deep breath before he knocked on the clubroom door. The basketball club manager opened the door and looked upward at him in surprise. "Ka-Kagami-kun…"

"I want to see captain and coach," Kagami said intensely and the girl yelped slightly before nodding and scrambling to call the senior and the basketball club advisor.

A few minutes later the basketball captain showed up first. Upon seeing Kagami's face, his expression darkened. "What do you want? Oh, right… giving your resignation letter formally?" he gave him a sinister spat and Kagami had to grit his teeth to stop himself from glowering.

Kagami had to remind himself that the one who was wounded by the devastating loss last time was his senior and not him. He counted to ten before he exhaled slowly and then fixed his gaze at the captain in determination.

"What?" the captain asked defensively when Kagami suddenly bowed at him.

"I'm sorry for snapping at you and the club three weeks ago. I'd like to take back my verbal resignation and once again join the basketball club," Kagami said coolly and somberly.

The captain gaped like a fish out of water. "Pardon?"

Kagami's eyebrows twitched. "I'm sorry for saying such harsh thing to you and the club, captain. But don't get me wrong. I still mean what I said before. I seriously want to defeat the Generation of Miracle. I know all of you are traumatized by that loss, but giving up a match before trying our best still doesn't sit well with me. I won't force you to cooperate with me, but please give me a chance to prove that we aren't inferior to them."

Kagami was still in bowing position. It killed him on the inside that he had to bow to another person for something that he could argue casually in America with his other friends, but if it was for his basketball, he could do this. He wanted to play basketball with a team. He would convince them with his own basketball that they could be on par… or even better than the GoM.

"You…" the captain looked at Kagami heatedly. "As I thought, you're an arrogant bastard that doesn't know how to give up!"

"I don't care what you think of me, but I can't play basketball alone, captain. I need a team. I know how strong Generation of Miracle team is. I saw their play in the video, but I don't think we are worse than them as a team. With the right team play and formation, we can be on par with them." Kagami said surely.

"On par…? You must have lost your mind," the captain scoffed sneeringly. "Fine, do whatever you want. You can try your best and taste the same hell as we did last time." Then he walked away, not sparing Kagami another glance.

_With such mindset, don't even talk about the GoM, can they even last in preliminaries?_—Kagami scowled deeply. He shook his head, chasing out such disheartening thought. _Don't start feeling anxious now, me! I've decided it. Now, I'll speak to the coach about it._

* * *

**~Kagami x Kuroko~**

* * *

"You rejoined the club?" Kuroko's eyes lit up after Kagami gave him the good news via telephone.

Today was Saturday afternoon and there was no club activity because tomorrow would be the start of the winter championship preliminary. Kagami made a particular call to Kuroko's house that day. _"Yah, you're the first one to know outside my basketball club,"_—he said with a light humor in his tone, making Kuroko's heart flutter.

"That is very nice, Kagami-kun. I am glad for you," Kuroko smiled as well now, his cheeks warming. He was happy that Kagami thought of him first to share such delight. It was almost like because Kuroko was special for Kagami or something, and he felt good about it.

"_Yeah, and the preliminary will start tomorrow, right? Have you known who your first opponent is?"_—Kagami's excited voice made Kuroko's kind of eager as well.

"Yes, it is a basketball team from Adachi Middle. What is yours?"

"_It's from St. Joseph. I heard they have a very strong center…"_

Kagami's pleasant, clear, animated voice was like music to Kuroko's ear. Hearing his pumped up words and lines reassured Kuroko that Kagami was alright. He was worried that Kagami had been down for weeks after leaving his club which such animosity, but he was glad that Kagami took his advice and made the first move to patch things up.

"I hope we can meet in final," Kuroko wished out loud and he heard Kagami sputter from the earpiece.

"_Y-you… such confidence is… somehow…"_—Kagami sounded annoyed and uncomfortable, but Kuroko could almost picture his reddening face from his stumbling words. It was honestly adorable. _"Well, I'd like that too, though…"_

Kuroko smiled tenderly. Now he wanted to see Kagami's face after speaking with him. Ah, he knew he was being greedy, but Kuroko couldn't help it. He yearned to meet Kagami.

Kuroko bit his lower lip, contemplating to ask if they could, but before he had a chance to voice his request, Kagami beat him to it. _"Na, Kuroko, are you free right now? I kinda want to go buy a new basketball in Shibuya. Do you want to go with me?"_

Kuroko was surprised that Kagami would ask him first, but he was elated that he could see him with this pretense. "Sure, I want to look for a new pair of wristbands as well."

"_Great! Let's meet at the station in an hour then. See ya!"_

"See you, Kagami-kun." Kuroko let out a content sigh after he hung up the phone. He couldn't contain his smile as he hurried to his room to retrieve his wallet and he even spared a glance at his reflection in the mirror. He tidied his hair before he realized what he was doing and flushed slightly at how self conscious he was about it.

_Dear god… I am acting like a girl…!_—Kuroko berated himself inwardly, totally embarrassed as he immediately got out of his house and locked his door before he ran to the station, still blushing.

No one could blame Kuroko for feeling euphoric, okay? It was a shopping date with Kagami after all.

**End of Chapter 8**

**Tbc...**

* * *

**A/N: **This chapter is a mess. What's wrong with me? I actually wanted to make Kuroko console Kagami, but Kiyoshi played greater part in that T_T. Well, since Kuroko is a Teikou member, Kagami can't really say that there's an internal conflict in his own basketball club because it will be like giving away his school secret, but Kuroko will keep it to himself that he knew what Kagami's problem is. Now, they'll go on a date. How I should proceed from here, I wonder…


	9. Under the Rain

**A/N: **Sorry for the very-very long wait. I know. Bad me. Life and work happened, dear readers. Can't do anything about that. Ahem, so… this is the new chapter. Hope you can enjoy this!

**Disclaimer: Kuroko no Basuke © Tadatoshi Fujimaki**

**Warning: **_none, except maybe some hints of a very light shounen ai, oOC-ness and Kagami's language…_

* * *

**Chapter 9: **_**Under the Rain**_

* * *

Kuroko walked around the station, looking for Kagami in the middle of the crowd. It was decided that he would be the one searching because Kagami stood out more than Kuroko, what with his height and his flaming hair color. Besides, it wasn't long before he spotted the red haired boy standing below the big clock just in front of the subway entrance.

Kuroko smiled slightly as he saw Kagami lean on the clock pole. One his feet rested on the ground while the other was bent on the knee, his sneaker nested on the pole buffer. He wore thick body-fit dark crimson parka with black fur trimmed on the edge of the hood and a pair of dark brown jeans which hugged his legs nicely.

Kuroko couldn't help noticing some people turn to stare at Kagami, either from wary, fear or fascination because of his scowling face. He wasn't sure why Kagami gave off a scary feeling at first glance, but if those people bothered to look closer, Kagami actually had a handsome feature, furthermore a very fine tall body, rather slender, but not lanky for a fourteen year old kid.

Well, Kuroko guessed that it was their loss. Moreover, he would be troubled if many people aside himself knew such pleasant traits about the red head. He didn't want to have so many rivals only to get Kagami's attention for himself after all. Though, he had to set straight the misunderstanding first about his _non-existent_ romantic relationship with Aomine, before Kuroko could make a move on his actual intended target.

Kuroko just hoped that he could do it right, preferably as soon as possible… or better, today.

Kuroko didn't realize that he had been ogling him quite awhile before he saw Kagami look at his watch. _Oh no. I have made him wait for too long. It is impolite to prolong the wait…—_he hurriedly approached Kagami and even though Kagami didn't see or hear him the first time he called his name, Kuroko made attempt to pull at his jacket slightly to notify him.

Kagami visibly jumped as he turned down to meet Kuroko's infamous dead-fish eyes. "Ku-Kuroko?! Since when have you been there?!" yeah, he looked officially shocked as he gaped.

"I just got here, Kagami-kun. I apologize for making you wait," Kuroko answered tonelessly, even though he was quite amused as he added, "I have been staring at you for quite some time, though."

Kagami's face flushed pink prettily in reaction. "Hurry and say something if you've been here for awhile, idiot!" and his voice was loud as he shouted, surprising the passerby around as he was probably trying to hide his embarrassment which was quite adorable in Kuroko's eyes.

Kuroko just smiled inwardly, trying hard not to chuckle, as he made an apology once more. But, since he took pleasure in seeing Kagami's entertaining response when he surprised him earlier, Kuroko didn't feel sorry at all. "Where are we going, Kagami-kun?"

After Kagami was calm enough to talk without yelling obscenities, they started to walk towards the shopping district. "Shibuya," Kagami answered distractedly while he was fiddling with his cell-phone. "I heard that place is quite famous with the sport stores."

"If you mean the sport stores with complete collection, it should be in Ginza, not Shibuya," Kuroko corrected evenly.

"Really?" the red head turned aside slightly to face Kuroko, seemingly surprised. "Ah… but I still have an appointment with my sport trainer at Shibuya." He sighed then, scratching the back of his head slightly while looking upward and chewing the inside of his cheeks, as if considering something. "Well, I guess Shibuya is alright for today. I haven't yet taken my time to walk around there anyway. After that we can go buy some balls and then play some street-ball games in the nearest court," at the end, Kagami just shrugged before grinning slightly.

"You're okay to play for real now?" Kuroko was a little bit taken aback at the news. He knew Kagami's leg was getting better, but he thought Kagami's rehab was going to last a few more weeks before he could do a real basketball game.

Kagami made an okay sign with his right thumb and index finger. "My doctor gave me a green light. As long as I continue my muscle training with a professional sport trainer as an extension of my rehab, he said I could fully play a game by the end of this week, which means _today_."

"Congratulation, Kagami-kun," Kuroko was happy for him. At last, he could really see Kagami in action on the court. Even though he still needed to be careful so he wouldn't get injured again, Kagami would finally show Kuroko his basketball play. Kuroko couldn't wait to watching him play in team soon!

The shopping date went without a glitch. Kagami and Kuroko went to Aida Sport Center at Shibuya, and met the man that would be his instructor. There was a girl with dark brown hair and eyes in the front desk that kept staring at Kagami in such indiscreet manner, but Kagami didn't seem to realize that he became her center of attention until Kuroko purposely mentioned it. As the red head turned to look at her, she looked away.

Kagami claimed that he didn't know her personally, but he did say she was kind of familiar, like he had seen her once, but he forgot when and where. "I see…" Well, apparently it wasn't just Kuroko who noticed Kagami's 'potential'. Form the assessing way she fixed her gaze on Kagami, he knew she was kind of measuring how Kagami was built past his jacket and shirt.

After discussing some kind of schedule for the rehabilitation to get back in shape with the instructor, a man in his early forty with a gruff look, Kagami and Kuroko left the sport center to go find some basketballs for Kagami before he claimed he wanted a pair of new shoes as well since tomorrow was his big day and he needed to look pristine for that.

Kuroko could only chuckle at the ridiculous reason, but he relented anyway. As long as they could stay together a little bit longer. He already got a new pair of wristband in the previous sport store where Kagami bought his ball. He had free time.

"It's always hard to find my size," Kagami admitted while sighing slightly after they tried the fourth store, but hadn't yet found a pair of basketball shoes in Kagami's size.

"Big foot," Kuroko just couldn't resist teasing and Kagami blushed again, this time apparently more from annoyance that Kuroko made fun of his complex rather than from discomfiture.

"Shut up!"

Well, at least when they hit the seventh store, Kagami found a pair in his size and his favorite brand. All in all, after Kagami bought the shoes, they went off to the nearest street ball court in Shibuya to play some three on three. Then, at the evening, they had dinner together in Majiba. It was sailing smooth too because both Kagami and Kuroko were immersed in their conversation of the upcoming preliminary.

Alright, there was a tiny bit accident on the way to Maji when Kuroko was bumped by someone that didn't 'see' him because of his usual thin presence, and that Kagami had to catch him before he fell down, and as the red head pulled Kuroko close to him, Kuroko's heart started to race at their very close proximity and the way Kagami's face leaned into him to ask if he was okay.

Kuroko could only nod as he tried to look away. Kagami seemed to realize that he had invaded Kuroko's personal space and instantly stepped back. "Sorry, bad habit," he said sheepishly.

Kuroko didn't mind it one bit, but he felt rather embarrassed now that Kagami maintained a certain distance afterwards. Too bad when the sun began to set, it also signaled the end of their 'date'. Kuroko was determined to regard it as a date no matter what other people said. Unfortunately (or fortunately in Kuroko's mind), the sound of pitter-patter on the glass window indicated it was raining outside.

_That way we can stay even longer together inside Majiba—_Kuroko hummed in low tone as he sucked his vanilla shake and savored the sweetness slowly in secretive delight.

"Ugh… it's raining! I don't bring any umbrella today," Kagami grunted slightly in annoyance as he looked outside the glass window, scowling at the darkening sky. "Crap. Yama-jii will start calling any second now…"

It was truth to be told as a few minutes later a shrill of ringtone roared, coming from Kagami's clothes. He sighed in resignation as he fished his vibrating and ringing cell phone out of his jacket pocket and answered the call. "What?"

Kuroko watched in mild amusement at the sullen figure in front of him. Kagami wore his emotion clearly in his expression. It was very entertaining observing him when Kuroko could tell how Kagami felt just by from his facial look. Right now, he seemed bored out of his mind as whoever called him, probably indeed Yamamoto, talked from the other end of the phone line.

"No, I'm with Kuroko eating dinner, Yama-jii. Stop being such a worry wart, sheesh." Kagami cursed under his breath. "I was at the sport center in the afternoon, getting to know my sport trainer and _no_, I wasn't forcing myself playing basketball."

That wasn't a lie. After all, Kagami wasn't serious at all when he played at the street ball court earlier. Although his body was a bit stiff since he needed to protect his leg, he could still kick the other players' ass in a three-on-three game. Of course Kuroko knew all of that because he played as his partner. It was fun, playing with Kagami like that.

"Alright, but it's raining and no! Don't you dare bring out a car or such! I can walk home alone! I'm not a fucking cripple!" Kagami raised his voice slightly as he hung up, looking furious now.

"Kagami-kun, that was unnecessary, was it?" Kuroko frowned slightly as Kagami stuffed his cell phone back on his pocket.

"You have no idea," Kagami rolled his eyes. "He's been acting like a mother hen since the past few days. Apparently something happened abroad, and my parents got concerned. Imagine him breathing on my neck all the time! Enough is enough!" Kagami huffed.

"Something happened abroad?" Kuroko blinked, his curiosity piqued.

"It's my parents' work. It doesn't involve me," Kagami's answer came in a second too quickly, but his expression and tone were quite nonchalant, so Kuroko dismissed the odd timing. "Anyway, how will we go home? Apparently, it will be raining all night." He sighed again slumping his body forward and planting the side of his head on the table surface.

"Eh?" Kuroko raised his eyebrow. Kagami just pointed at the television that was airing the weather prediction for tonight and tomorrow morning. "Ah..." that would be a problem, indeed. Well, it was good that Kuroko was always prepared, especially for this kind of occasion. "I bring an umbrella, though. Do you want to share mine until the subway station?"

Kuroko knew he had to offer. Who would waste an opportunity to walk under the same tiny umbrella with a person they liked? It was probably childish, but it was _of course_ allowed for him, since he was still a teenage boy and all. Besides, it could be a very good excuse to stay close to Kagami's warm body while avoiding getting rained down.

Kagami was staring at Kuroko with disbelief in his eyes. Well, there was always a chance that Kagami would feel uncomfortable with such embarrassing bordering suggestive offer, and then refused, but to Kuroko's wonder, he asked instead, "Is that really okay?" and he looked officially pleased as Kuroko nodded. "Then, let's go!"

Kuroko and Kagami rose from their seats and then moved to the entrance. The shower of rain immediately greeted them before Kuroko opened his umbrella and stepped outside, followed by Kagami that bent slightly to accommodate Kuroko's height under the thing. Kuroko immediately raised his hand so Kagami could stand and walk properly without having to lower his head.

Kagami seemed to notice that such position was inconvenient for Kuroko's smaller form, so he raised his hand and grabbed at the handle, above Kuroko's gripping hand. "Maybe I should hold it. It's tiring, right?" the red haired teen offered.

"Eh, but…" Kuroko looked upward slightly to the side at Kagami who looked down at him as well. Then he shifted his gaze at Kagami's bigger hand that was gripping the handle an inch above his own. Kuroko gradually released his own handle, letting Kagami's hand take his place.

"Yosh," a small smile grazed Kagami's jagged feature as he lifted the umbrella higher before raising his face to look ahead.

Kuroko didn't know what to do with his own hand at this point, but he certainly didn't want to get wet by maintaining appropriate distance from Kagami. Suddenly feeling unimaginably brave, Kuroko wormed his hand around Kagami's forearm and held it close to his body, obviously surprising Kagami for a moment because the taller teen stilled slightly at the added warmth.

"Kuroko?" Kagami sounded unsure, but he didn't make any attempt to shake him off.

"I am a bit chilled and I do not want to get drenched by the rain. Kagami-kun is so warm. It feels very good like this," Kuroko closed his eyes leaning his head and body a bit closer than it should, but he didn't really care. It was an opportunity after all, and Kuroko would take whatever he could to stick more to Kagami.

"O-oh," Kagami barked out a laugh, sounding slightly higher and unnatural. But his voice was still very nice, so Kuroko didn't mind it. "Jeez, taking a chance in intricacy, huh? You bad, bad company," it was humorous. Kagami was being careful and Kuroko realized that he probably was worried how they looked like at that moment in the eyes of others.

Kuroko liked to imagine that they looked like a lovey-dovey couple walking hand in hand under the same umbrella. But, that was just a wishful thinking since most people probably didn't realize he was _there_ in the first place.

"I am? Then Kagami-kun is an idiot for asking me out on a shopping date," Kuroko countered evenly and Kagami froze on his spot, stopping their walk.

"A-a what?" the red head squeaked, his face reddening and Kuroko had a hard time to hold down his amused chuckle.

"Is it not? A shopping date…" Kuroko just couldn't stop teasing. Kagami was so much fun to mess with, especially when he was so self conscious like that.

"You- you're really…!" Kagami seemed about to blow a fuss any moment, probably very annoyed and extra embarrassed, but before he could start anything, someone else beat him to it.

"What in the world do you think you're doing, Kuroko?"

Both he and Kagami were startled at the deep voice and Kuroko turned around slightly only to be faced with Midorima's disapproving glare. The green haired teen was also under an umbrella in green color with frog pattern and he was walking with a little girl under cute pink raincoat, probably his little sister.

"Midorima-kun?" Kuroko was surprised to see him.

"Huh, who?" and Kagami seemed curious.

Midorima's sharp eyes shifted to Kagami for a moment before it fell on Kuroko's hand around Kagami's arm. "To think that you swing that way…" he grumbled slightly before making a conscious effort to cover his little sister's eyes from the thwarting sight in front of them. "Be more discreet or people will look at you disturbingly."

"Huh?" Kagami made a disgruntled expression and noise, frowning deeply as he heard it. "What the fuck—!?"

"Midorima-kun, it is a misunderstanding," Kuroko immediately tried to explain before Kagami could start yelling there. "Kagami-kun is just a friend. This is not what it looks like. I just did not want to get too wet, so I walked closer to him. It is easier to walk for both of us if I hold onto him like this." He showed his hand to Midorima before he released Kagami's arm.

Midorima scrutinized both Kuroko and Kagami, still protectively covering his sister's sight. "Your friend?" there was a skeptical tone in his voice.

"Yeah, I _am_," Kagami growled slightly. "Don't just draw bizarre conclusion without all the facts," he glared at the bespectacled teen, sounding completely offended and defensive.

_Ah… that actually hurts a bit—_Kuroko thought as he felt the pinprick feeling in his heart at the indirect rejection. Kagami even didn't want to look like remotely together with him in the others' perspective. Kuroko should stop teasing him before the red haired boy hated him for it.

"I see… So, who are you again?" Midorima narrowed his eyes at Kagami now.

"Who are _you_ then?" Kagami challenged, apparently not wanting to lose as figurative electricity clashed between their eyes.

"You should really teach your friend manners, Kuroko," Midorima stated coldly without releasing his wound up gaze from Kagami and Kuroko sighed slightly.

"Don't blame Kuroko for your lack of confidence, _Green_*-kun," Kagami scoffed.

"What did you say?" Midorima almost snarled, _almost_.

"Please, both of you, calm down," Kuroko didn't know why they started to bicker with each other. They even hadn't known each others' name properly. "Midorima-kun, your sister will be frightened," he continued, reminding that Midorima wasn't alone right then and the green haired boy immediately looked at the little girl beside him who seemed confused of why she was blindfolded with her brother's palm.

Midorima harrumphed after he released his palm from his sister's eyes and once again glared at Kagami and Kuroko. "You should pick your friends better, Kuroko," he said before he turned around and pulled his sister to walk away, leaving Kuroko and Kagami to their own device.

"What the hell is his problem?!" Kagami shouted in total annoyance at the retreating back of Midorima.

"I apologize. He is not usually that prissy… well, not as much anyway," Kuroko muttered lowly, "Maybe his horoscope today is not good," he shrugged.

"You don't have to apologize for him, you know. It's not your fault that he's so uptight. Who is he anyway?" Kagami demanded, still looking pissed off, but apparently didn't blame Kuroko at all for the unpleasant meeting.

"Ah, that is one of my teammates in Teikou basketball club. His name is Midorima Shintarou," Kuroko answered slowly, but he couldn't elaborate further of what Midorima could do because that would violate one of the rules.

"Midorima Shintarou… one of the Generation of Miracle, huh?" the red head looked thoughtful for a moment.

Well, look at that. Kagami had done his home work. He probably had looked for the information about the GoM since he knew that Midorima was one of them. Kuroko didn't even have to open his mouth or nod to confirm it.

Though, Kagami sighed slightly after that. "I hope he won't misunderstand our relationship because it can be troublesome in more ways than one."

Ah, so Kagami was more worried about that. Of course he was. What was Kuroko thinking?

"No worries, Midorima-kun is not that kind of person," Kuroko smiled apologetically. Well, Midorima was kind of dense in the obvious area, but who knew if he could be sensitive in the subtle one? Hopefully he wouldn't say a thing to Akashi because it could become a disaster if Akashi asked Momoi to look into Kagami's life.

Kagami's private life was his own, and Kuroko didn't want _anyone_ to upset him unnecessarily.

"Well, if you say so…" Kagami shrugged. "I just don't want Aomine to misunderstand as well. If he thinks you're cheating on him, it will be bad, right?" he scratched the back of his neck while looking away slightly, seeming rather nervous.

Kuroko was silent with a bead of sweat rolling down his cheek. _I wish this guy wouldn't be so clueless as well_—he let out a defeated sigh. He should just explain it right there and then.

"You see, Kagami-kun… about Aomine-kun and I…" Kuroko was about to say it when this time, another bothersome person showed up, distracting both him and Kagami.

"Arara… isn't that Kuro-chin?"

Kuroko jerked slightly as once again he turned to look at the owner of the familiar tenor voice that called him. "Murasakibara-kun?" he didn't expect to see the purple haired boy there. After all, why was he out at a time like this without an umbrella? He had a plastic bag filled with his usual snacks on one of his hands while the other was holding a red colored lollipop, so Kuroko guessed that he had just finished hunting for snack stock.

"Whoa! So huge!" Kagami looked surprised and slightly awed as he stared at the tall figure. Well, Murasakibara was indeed very tall, taller than Kagami; probably than any other middle school kid, Kuroko might add.

"Thank you," Murasakibara seemed to take that as a compliment as he gazed intently at Kagami in unreadable expression. "Your friend, Kuro-chin?" now, he looked down at Kuroko, a glint of curiosity in his amethyst eyes.

"Yes, this is Kagami Taiga," Kuroko introduced Kagami to the purple head before he turned to face Kagami and introduced Murasakibara to him as well, "-and he is Murasakibara Atsushi."

"Nice to meet you," Kagami greeted before he looked upward at Murasakibara with a slight frown in his gruff face. "You're getting soaked," he commented, pointing at the dripping water from his hair.

"This coat is water proof," Murasakibara shrugged indifferently.

"You should wear the hood," Kagami slowly reached his hand out to Murasakibara before he touched the upper coat and pulled up the hood to cover the purple haired boy's head. "There."

"Ah, no wonder my head felt cold earlier," Murasakibara looked upward a little at the hood before his hand went up to play with the edge of the material while his mouth held his lollipop.

"Murasakibara-kun is slow as usual," Kuroko chuckled, but he couldn't help glancing fondly at Kagami who was actually concerned about Murasakibara's well being. He was very kind. It was Kagami's nature that stole Kuroko's heart in the first place. If only he could tell Kagami how he felt.

Murasakibara stared at both Kagami and Kuroko for a few seconds, gaining Kuroko's awareness that his teammate was probably picking up something even though it was uncanny. It was Murasakibara after all. But still, it could get wearisome if he breathed a word about Kagami to Akashi. Kuroko really didn't want to deal with the other red head for this matter.

Akashi and his rules… _sheesh_, Kuroko didn't want to get lectured by the captain for getting too close to another team's member. It wasn't like he didn't trust Kuroko not to reveal _something_, but… one couldn't be too careful, especially someone like Akashi Seijuurou.

"Kuro-chin, on a date?" apparently, Murasakibara caught _more_ than he appeared perceiving.

Kuroko almost turned red, but Kagami combusted spontaneously. "It's NOT a date!" he denied hard, and the blush on Kuroko's face was instantly wiped off even before it bloomed.

Another pinprick feeling in his heart bothered Kuroko a great deal. Stupid Kagami for being so blunt about it. Couldn't he at least sugar coat it a little? Well, it wasn't Kuroko's place to talk because seriously, it was only his imagination that it was a _date_.

"We just hang out together sometimes, Murasakibara-kun," Kuroko couldn't help supporting the denial, even though he didn't really want to.

"Oh…" Murasakibara nodded nonchalantly. "Well, I have to go," he said, resuming eating his candy slowly. "Mom said dinner will be ready. If I'm not fast, my sisters and brothers will eat all of it." Then the purple haired giant was gone.

"So… why is he eating snacks before dinner?" Kagami asked a few seconds after Murasakibara left, dumbfounded. Kuroko held down an amused titter at the ridiculous curiosity.

"I believe it is his hobby," Kuroko sneaked on and latched his hand around Kagami's arm once again. "Shall we continue our _not_-date?" he couldn't help smiling faintly at that and Kagami flushed again brightly.

"You really should stop joking about that, you know… I might take it seriously," Kagami grumbled in a bothered tone as they also resumed their walk to the station. He wasn't looking at Kuroko, but there was something in his expression that drew Kuroko to look closer and harder.

Kagami didn't seem to hate the idea of them on a date when they were alone, but… he probably thought of it as a joke. It was funny at first, yet every time Kuroko thought that it would always be a _joke_, he couldn't help feeling the sweet ache in his heart.

_I do not want it to be just a joke or a pretense—_Kuroko thought in his silence. If only he could say it out loud.

The journey came to an end too fast for Kuroko's liking as they arrived at the station. Kagami folded the umbrella before giving it back at Kuroko. "See you in court," he said with an encouraging smile.

"Yes," Kuroko smiled back at him in determination.

It wasn't the time to think about romantic feeling. They had promises to fulfill. One of them was to meet in finals. Kuroko would be there and he believed Kagami would be there as well to meet his team. To finalize the deal, Kuroko offered his fist to bump, just like how Kagami had offered his own that one time in Kagami's house. Kagami seemed surprised for a moment before he raised his fist as well and bumped Kuroko's in confidence.

If Kagami felt Kuroko's knuckles linger on his a moment longer than necessary, he didn't say anything about it as they parted ways. Kuroko could only touch his fist heartwarmingly as a pleasant smile flourished on his face, watching Kagami's strong back after he turned around and walked away.

"I really do like you, Kagami-kun…" he whispered as he recalled the sweet feeling he had when he held Kagami's arm.

One day… one day he would tell Kagami about his feelings. As for now, Kuroko would wait… until the right time came.

**End of Chapter 9**

**Tbc…**

* * *

**Additional Note:**

***_Green-kun_: **Kagami called Midorima 'Midori-kun', it's a word play shortened from Midorima's name to mock his hair color as well as to call for an inexperienced man (green). I found this very amusing *lol*

**A/N: **I have no idea what to categorize this chapter as. I mean… it can be sweet and fluff and yet at the end it can be called depressing as well. Man, I wish Kuroko would just say the word, but apparently, interruption always comes in the worst timing ever *lol*. Oh, and I just found out that Akashi has multiple personality disorder after I read the latest chapter. Damn. How will I include all of the canon facts in this canon-divergence thing when the _crack_ happened right after the tournament? And I can't believe the principal is so mean! I mean… poor Aomine, damn it! It's like their feelings don't matter as long as they win! And all of that is just for publicity of the school, seriously?! Too bad the new head coach can't do a thing against the principal… even though the coach feels really bad after betraying Aomine's expectation. Crap, I'm ranting aren't I? I can't help it. That old jerk of a principal pisses me off so much. Thanks to that everything starts to fall apart as well *sighs*. Alright, enough with my rant… see you guys in next chapter!


	10. The Competition

**Disclaimer: Kuroko no Basuke © Tadatoshi Fujimaki**

**A/N and Warning: **Firstly, thanks a LOT for all the reviews, faves and alerts for this story. Secondly, please note that this is an **_AU story_** (albeit canon-divergence), so there will be many inconsistencies between the setting (both times and places, even the participants) in the manga and in here, especially for the All Middle tournament (Teikou Arc). For the sake of this fic plot, I need to change some rules and order. But hopefully, the major events on the GoM side will be the same (so there might be **_some spoilers_** for readers who haven't gotten that far yet in the manga, but no worries. There won't be much since it's from Kagami's POV after all). I just made it so Kagami and Shōei Middle will fit somewhere in it.

Ah… thirdly, because checking middle school names that participated in the All Middle Tournament in manga one by one would take too much time, please **_excuse some made up middle school names_** just for the sake of giving them identity somehow. Oh, and it will be even more awesome if **_someone can tell me what Hanamiya Makoto's middle school name was_**, because I swear I've read it somewhere, but I just couldn't find it even though I'd been re-reading the whole Seirin-Kirisaki Daichi match until Seirin-Touou match. Seriously, the name just magically disappeared (or I just wasn't looking hard enough).

Well, last but not least, since it's like that, if you have no complaint over it, please do proceed to the story!

* * *

**Waiting 10: _The Competition_**

* * *

Today was the start of the preliminary for All Middle Tournament which final rounds to decide 8th best tournament would be held in winter. As expected, it wasn't as easy for Shōei Middle to compete as the last tournament in summer since Kiyoshi wasn't with them anymore, but for some reason, the captain and the coach refrained from using Kagami's skill in court too early even though he was more than ready to play.

Kagami grumbled in annoyance as he watched the seniors and his friends struggle in the first game from the bench. It was the third quarter, but they were behind almost ten point difference.

"Coach, let me in," Kagami growled impatiently at his middle aged coach, but the gray haired the old man just let out a deep sigh.

"Patience, Kagami. It's only the first game and you've just healed. You can still play in the second and third games tomorrow," he didn't seem too worried that they were barely hanging in there. What the hell was he up to?

"I can't play if _we lose_ this match, coach," Kagami convinced once more, determined to go out there to help his team.

"Have faith in your team, Kagami. They haven't shown their true power yet," the coach replied calmly, sounding like a parent trying to explain rules to his kindergarten child, frustrating Kagami a little bit.

"Well, they'd better hurry and show it! Every match is important! They shouldn't underestimate their opponent like this!" Kagami raised his voice slightly and his coach immediately thumped over his head lightly with the roll of tournament schedule.

"Calm down, sheesh… You're too easy to rile up. That's why we won't use your skill yet. You will exhaust yourself too quickly if you lose your head like that in a game, Kagami." The coach's tone was patronizing and Kagami muttered darkly at him for being too laid back while stroking his top.

Damn. Kagami just wanted to play in the game. He wanted to experience those exhilarating feelings again by competing with the opponent team seriously. He had waited for way too long since his accident and he just couldn't sit still while his heart desire was just one step ahead.

Kagami was increasingly irritated as the seconds passed by and when the third quarter was over, even though his team managed to catch up some points until it was only two points difference, he couldn't help demanding once again to be put in the game.

"Chill, Kagami. We'll show you our true color in the fourth quarter," the captain smirked, and Kagami stared at him in disbelief at the cryptic dismissal. "We don't need your skill to win this match."

Wow, that finishing blow stung rather deeply even though he wouldn't admit it out loud. The bastard was apparently still holding a grudge toward Kagami for what he said some months before, about him being a coward. Kagami clamped his mouth shut and glared furiously at the captain who promptly ignored him now, before he also went back to sit and gritted his teeth, holding back an insult that was already at the tip of his tongue, not wanting to rise a racket in the middle of a sacred basketball match.

_Alright, the last time was probably my fault, but just now was so unnecessary to mention. Being told that you're not needed hurts more than I thought_—Kagami mused quietly in fury, counting to ten and doing a breathing exercise to settle his temper down. It was a conditioned reaction when he was hurt either physically or mentally. He wanted to lash out, but that wouldn't do him any good. He didn't want to be dismissed from the team after all.

The fourth quarter started and Kagami paid more attention to the match. He noticed that there was a sudden drastic change of mood in the court and his teammates emitted strange aura before they moved _very_ _differently_ from the previous three quarters. To say the least, Kagami widened his eyes in surprise. His teammates' reaction in handling the ball was quicker, their attack sharper, even the defense firmer.

_What's going on?_—Kagami blinked repeatedly, rather bewildered. Though, he wasn't the only one because the opponent team looked perplexed and overwhelmed as well with the sudden change of pace. Gone was Shōei Middle's team laid-back and struggling attitude as their focus was more concentrated on stealing balls and getting scores, while not letting the opponent to take any chance. In no time, they had managed to overturn the opponent scores and widen the gap until fifteen point difference, by the time seventh minute hit the clock.

With three minutes left, they didn't stop attacking the other team, not letting their guard down at all, so it was futile for the competitor's team to try to gain their flow back. And as the ending bell was signaled, Shōei Middle had conquered their first opponent with twenty point difference in their wake.

Kagami was honestly dumbstruck. He had watched his team practice all the time, but apparently, he had just realized that Shōei was the type of school that got insanely strong in the last quarter. That was why they looked slack in the first and second quarter and struggling in the third quarter. It was their carefully calculated strategy to throw the balance of the game in the last quarter with the element of surprise. When their opponent was already exhausted because they tried to lead the game from the first to third quarter, Shōei started barreling them with attacks that were far more powerful and precise than before. The opponent team wasn't ready for it and in the end, succumbed to Shōei team's power.

Their stamina had to be ridiculously strong to endure such game tactic. But when did his teammates practice such thing? Even the training menu given by the manager wouldn't cover half of the stamina training for them to play this way.

"Close your damn mouth, Kagami, or fly will enter and choke you to death," the captain snorted at him as Kagami was woken up from his astounded reverie.

"H-how…?" Damn. Kagami was stuttering slightly. He hoped he didn't look too stupid at that moment because he was still confused.

"It's simple. We're just that strong." There was no doubt in the captain's expression and voice when he said it, and Kagami almost believed him, _almost_.

He immediately sobered up and looked at his senior seriously. "Then we have hope to defeat Teikou," Kagami said surely, but the moment the school name left his mouth, the confidence look in the older boy's eyes wavered, slowly changing into uncertainty.

"Jeez… way to destroy good mood," the captain muttered sourly and just took his jacket and walked away before his team followed him. Kagami stood up a few seconds after, before he too, walking after his team in uncomfortable silence while the disappointment was welling up inside him at his captain's reply.

* * *

**~Kagami x Kuroko~**

* * *

All the preliminary matches went without a hitch for Shōei to qualify for the 'final round' of the All Middle School tournament. Their team became a representative of Tokyo District, along with Teikou Middle and Hanazaki Middle. All were separated in each block with other three competitors. Shōei Middle was in block E, Teikou in block A and Hanazaki in block F. If it went smoothly and they all became each block winners, they'd enter the 8th best tournament, and if they kept winning, they would meet in final tournament at the end of the month.

Kagami called Kuroko the day before the final round started. "Hey, heard your team goes to the final round," he said lightly.

"_Yes, we have proceeded smoothly this year as well,"_—Kuroko answered flatly. But Kagami could imagine the small smile on Kuroko's lips. He must have been quite happy as well for getting into the final round.

"Good. Then the promise is still valid," Kagami grinned to himself.

"_Did you compete in the games, Kagami-kun?"_—Kuroko asked. True, they couldn't exactly meet each other or see each others' plays during the preliminaries because the places they were competing were different. Also, unfortunately (or actually fortunately from different perspective), there were no competition for the best three middle schools of Tokyo District because there were only three blocks in preliminary, so they automatically qualified for the final rounds of All Middle Tournament after they came as the winner in the preliminary tournament.

"Yeah, but not much. For some reason the coach and the captain didn't want to use me too much, much to my aggravation," Kagami complained slightly, but he didn't realize how he sounded before it was out and he blushed, rather embarrassed for being so whiny in the phone, with Kuroko to boot. Crap. That was thwarting. He let out a suffering sigh and Kuroko chuckled slightly from the earpiece, surprising Kagami. "What?" He flushed even more at the unexpected response from his blue haired friend.

"_No, I believe Kagami-kun is like the secret ultimate weapon for Sh__ō__ei Middle to take over the All Middle Tournament victory against the other strong schools' teams. That's why they won't use you unless it's absolutely necessary,"_—Kuroko explained. Kagami felt a surge of warmth in his heart after he heard such optimistic opinion from Kuroko, no matter how unlikely it was. Only the crystal-blue eyed boy could make such unpleasant experience (for not being relied on by his own teammates) sounded so cool.

Oh, man… Kagami could definitely feel his cheeks burning. "W-what the hell?! It's not like we're playing super heroes' movie, damn it! What's with this _secret ultimate weapon_?!" he tried to cover his embarrassment by screeching, his voice too high for his comfort.

"_Eh, but I think it definitely suits you, Kagami-kun, being a secret weapon, that is."_—The bluenet had the gall to tease him despite his level voice. Seriously, Kuroko was really weird, but since he was cute, Kagami could tolerate such uniqueness. Kuroko must have been laughing on the inside, though… the sly kid.

"Whatever," Kagami rolled his eyes, but couldn't really deny the joyful feeling as he continued, "Then see you at the final round and... Ah… actually, I'd like to see you sooner, but with all the practices and exams, it's nearly impossible to get some spare time." Alright, he admitted it. He missed Kuroko. It had been just a few weeks since their last meeting, but he really wanted to meet the boy again.

There was only silence on the other line for awhile, and Kagami thought Kuroko had hung up, but the quiet, almost fond whisper that answered him after that caused Kagami's heart to flutter in delight. _"Me too…"_

Kagami's heartbeat speeded up, pounding harder in his ribcage at the admission and Kuroko's voice. Somehow, it was filled with emotion, unlike the flat and even tone that Kuroko usually used. He didn't know what that meant, but was it really okay to interpret that Kuroko really missed him as much as he did Kuroko?

"Kuroko, I-…" Kagami nearly slipped and said how he really missed him, but he stopped at the last second because he was almost certain that the boy just meant his word in a friendly manner. Still, Kagami was just glad even if it was only for politeness in Kuroko's part.

"_Hmm?"_—Kuroko's questioning tone was heard. It seemed that Kagami had taken too long to continue his word.

Kagami shook his head, forgetting that Kuroko couldn't see him. "Nah, never mind," he said, scratching his head self-consciously. "I just hope we really can compete in the final match." He closed his eyes after that, feeling the _doki-doki_ (1) of his heart fill the warm, pleasant silence between them after that.

"_Yeah…"—_after a few seconds (or was it minutes?), another heartfelt reply came and Kagami could almost see Kuroko's real smile from the sound of contentment in his voice.

Saying their good bye reluctantly, Kagami hung up and let his head fall on his pillow, a wide grin spreading on his face, almost splitting his cheeks. He was just very happy he could hear Kuroko's voice. It always lifted his spirit to unbearable level. He was so full of energy he wouldn't be able to sleep tonight. Not just because tomorrow he would compete in the final rounds, but also because he couldn't wait to seeing Kuroko again.

* * *

**~Kuroko x Kagami~**

* * *

Unfortunately, the stages for the final round would begin weren't held in one place. Kagami cursed his luck as he entered the stadium. There were only block E and F competing in this place, while Kuroko and his Teikou team were in other stadium where block A and B would be competing.

Shōei's opponents, basketball teams from Okinawa (Saiga Middle), Kyushu (Tsukuba Academy) and Hokkaido (Hoshira Middle) looked strong. All of them were tall and they had impressive built, especially the team from Okinawa.

"They have advantage in stamina department since their training ground is harsher than us. It won't be easy to apply our usual strategy because I'm positive that they won't get tired even after we enter fourth quarter. So, for this game, I want all of you to play your all since first quarter and keep it that way until the end. Lead the game. Don't lose concentration and don't let them overthrow your score. If you're tired, just say it and I will change you with the reserved player. I am positive that we are better in technique than them." The coach instructed and the team nodded in understanding.

"Kagami, get ready. You'll be called in anytime now," the captain warned and Kagami straightened his body before responding to it readily.

"Yes!"

* * *

**~Kagami x Kuroko~**

* * *

Saiga Middle's players played roughly. Apparently, their basketball style was heavily influenced by American run and gun team with unending bodily contact that almost broke the rules (actually they did break the charging foul several times). Even so, they didn't seem to do it on purpose because they were used to play like that. It came from their environment where they grew up. Moreover, their spirit and love for basketball was something that Kagami respected (it was like he was back in America again, so he actually quite liked them). Frankly, Shōei had a hard time defending against their attacks. Well, by the time the fourth quarter arrived, everyone from both teams was already wheezing. Okinawa team members were reduced to four people because one of them had to leave the court after committing five fouls. However, their strength wasn't wavering and for some reason, they played even harder.

"God… the worst team to fight fair and square _ever_." One of Kagami's teammates almost choked on his own heavy breath after he rebounded and tossing the ball to the point guard, before the senior passed it to Kagami and he had to pass the ball to the shooting guard for a three pointer since he was marked by two people.

"No time to whine," Kagami snorted, but he was evidently tired too. His guards didn't let him move freely by trying to steal the ball all the time.

"Shut it and score more!" the others offhandedly retorted before they were forced to focus on the game once again.

In the end, as the last seconds ticked by, Shōei was struggling with the last opportunity to score. If they got it in, it was their win. But if they missed it, the match would be a tie. They crowded in the middle of the court, trying to bypass the defense which didn't give up in trying stealing the ball from them. It was chaos and if Kagami didn't hurry to break free from the defense and shoot, they would break twenty four seconds rule. The ball would be given to Saiga's team.

_No fucking way!_—Kagami snarled and used one of techniques that his former teacher had ever taught him. He wasn't as agile as her or as swift as Tatsuya to pull it off perfectly, but if he could just catch one of the defenses off guard…

Surprisingly, Kagami could pivot 360 degrees with one leg (the right one, since his left leg would throb if he tried complicated maneuver after such grave injury) while dribbling the ball to rightly round his opponents, 180 degrees through their left side and then using their momentary surprise to drive in and enter the free throw area.

"Shoot, Kagami!" his teammates shouted in urgency and Kagami immediately jumped to shoot. Saiga's center jumped at the same time as him, trying to block his shot, but Kagami prayed that he could be higher and longer in the air until he released the ball past the blocking hands.

"WHAT?!"

Kagami's heart thumped harder and harder as he landed a moment just before the ball went into the basket and the bell rang to signal the end of the match. Kagami and his teammates instantly exploded in joy and elation as their score overturned the Okinawa team and they were declared as the winner of the first round.

**#**

Kagami happily called Kuroko soon after the match, having gotten his new cell-phone number the last time the spoke to each other from the phone (a present from Kuroko's parents because he was very active in basketball club, he said) excitedly informing him that they had won. Kuroko said that Teikou won their first match too and they congratulated each other for a job well-done. Two more rounds to go before they met at the best 8th of All Middle Tournament.

* * *

**~Kagami x Kuroko~**

* * *

At the second round, Shōei was up against one of Kyushu representatives, Tsukuba Academy (they actually had education facility from elementary to university). The basketball style of this academy team was the complete opposite of Shōei's first opponent. If Saiga was aggressive, brazen and unpredictable in their attack, Tsukuba's team relied heavily on their strategies and precise methodical attacks. It was quick and accurate, but for some reason, the players' nature was mostly cold and uncaring, like a robot. Their basketball play didn't have a 'life' in it, as if they had no spirit. This type of team was the type Kagami hated most. Even Kagami liked Teikou's GoM team better than them, despite their monstrous nature. At least in that video, they showed incredible spirit while enjoying their play.

Sadly, Kagami was benched for this round because Shōei loved this kind of team as their opponent (meaning they would do just fine without Kagami in there). They loved provoking such team to fall into their own rhythm, and Kagami wasn't trained enough in the team to move in tandem like the rest of them since he barely joined their practice (except just watching) while he had been recuperating.

"The more methodical their play, the easier for us to 'read' their habit," The coach looked happy and stress-free as he told his boys to have fun in the game. Well, now Kagami knew where Kiyoshi's unusual calm nature came from; that infamous 'let's have fun~' phrase before the game, Kagami meant. Their coach's character must have rubbed on him.

In the end, Shōei beat their opponent after successfully grating their nerves to play more freely, even though they came close to Saiga's style in the fourth quarter five minutes before the game ended (much to the other team's coach indignant glare). This time they won by one point difference and that was only because the last scoring shot by Tsukuba's shooting guard wasn't counted since he released the ball just a half-second after the bell rang.

**#**

After giving respect to each others' team, Kagami gave another call to Kuroko who informed him back that Teikou's team won as well. Kagami smiled as he heard Kuroko's story about their opponent. On the other hand, Kuroko was silent while listening intently on his story about the robotic team.

One more match to win before they entered the best 8th tournament!

* * *

**~Kagami x Kuroko~**

* * *

Shōei's last round opponent was the team from Hokkaido, Hoshira Middle School. The team was a cautious attacker type who liked to water-test their opponents and analyzed their ability in the first and second quarters. Then they would strike hard in third quarter. Their strategy was similar with Shōei's team, but since they had a head start in the third quarter to score more and then suddenly switched their style to total defense in the last quarter, Shōei almost lost this round or at least _tied_.

Now, wait a minute. He said _almost_. Note the operative word here. It was a close call, really. If one of the defenses didn't slip on the sweat in the last second, he wouldn't have made that foul while Kagami was shooting and granted Shōei a free throw plus the basket count, since he made it. That one bonus score was the one led them to victory.

Shōei made it into eight best with a clean spot by three winnings and zero loses. And so did Teikou. The other Tokyo rep, Hanazaki Middle, was defeated by a Middle school from Osaka which would become Shōei's first opponent in eight best matches.

**#**

At the outing together to celebrate their winning in the round match to enter the best eight matches, they had dinner and discussed about all the participants in the best eight.

"Winner of block A, of course the accursed Teikou," one of the guys scoffed.

"What about block B? Teikou's first match?"

"Kamizaki, right? They have this guy… who is it again… ah! Inoue?"

"Oh, that guy… I know him. Apparently, last year he became Teikou's Aomine's best competitor. Not that I watched their game, though…"

_Seriously? A competitor for that Aomine?_—Kagami widened his eyes in shock. After all, Aomine was the ace of the Generation of Miracle. Becoming that guy's best competitor was extra ordinary.

"What about block C?" All heads turned to their manager who brought the schedule and the participants list.

"Um… Umezu Middle from Hokkaido, they will face Yāta Middle from Kyoto, winner of block D, in the first match," she answered dutifully.

"I see… this year All Middle participants are extra ordinary. Umezu has Eikichi Nebuya and Yāta has Hayama Kotaro and Mibuchi Reo… that will be very interesting," the captain smirked.

Kagami couldn't help noting some names to look up later. He didn't get why it would be interesting with those guys around after all. From the tone, his captain seemed to respect those guys.

"Then, since we're the winner of block E, we'll have to face the winner of block F in the next eight best matches, right? What's the name of the middle school?" Kagami asked the manager, wanting to include himself in the discussion.

"It's… Seitō Middle," she answered sounding slightly hesitant.

Immediately, all the seniors and regular members in Kagami's year jerked up and widened their eyes in surprise at that. Kagami and some of the juniors noticed the odd reaction and tilted their heads aside a little, looking questioningly at them.

"Seitō… _that_ Seitō Middle from Osaka…?" one of them asked, gaping, and she nodded, looking very solemn for some reason.

"Oh, sheesh… and on the eight best match too…" the captain sighed, covering his forehead in agitation.

"I surely don't want to be on court while facing them," another senior shrugged, looking absolutely loathing.

"What, why?" Kagami started to feel that dissatisfaction again, thinking that their seniors would chicken out while facing a team that was probably better than Shōei, just like when they talked about the GoM.

However, this time they seemed more disgruntled and disgusted rather than resigned. Moreover, they refused to answer Kagami's question and chose to change the topic. "What about the rest?" the captain ignored Kagami's question and turned once again to the manager.

"Block G winner is Meikou Middle and block H is Kamata Middle," she confirmed.

"Meikou has that Ogiwara guy and Kamata… there's no one to be careful of," he nodded before he stood up. "Alright, enough chatting. Let's go home and get some rest! We need to be at our best in the next match," then just like that he walked out of the restaurant.

"Eh? But—!" Kagami was about to protest, but another senior cut him.

"Ah, at least we have three days before the eight best tournament starts," he also stood up before leaving.

Kagami was a little affronted at the dismissal gesture, but short after one by one, everyone followed their example and left. Kagami could only sigh in resignation as he rose from his seat as well, because there was no point in fuming alone inside the nearly empty restaurant.

"Oh, right, there will be three days recess before the eight best tournament begins… maybe I can meet Kuroko before it," Kagami smiled slightly to himself, trying to forget why his senior was so unwilling to share information before, and then fished out his cell-phone from his long pants jersey. He dialed Kuroko's number and waited for the line to connect.

As there was a click and Kuroko's smooth voice fleeted through the earpiece, Kagami's smile widened. _"Hello, Kagami-kun."_

"Yah, Kuroko, how is your match today?"

"_We advance to the best eight tournament,"_—was the flat answer. Well, even if the tone didn't show any of his emotion, Kagami just knew that Kuroko was in full spirit.

"So do we," Kagami grinned.

"_I am glad… it seems this year I will be able to fulfill my promises both with you and my childhood friend,"_—Kuroko said, sounding relieved.

"Childhood friend?" Kagami raised his eyebrows. That was the first time he heard about it.

"_Yes, we have been writing to each other since he parted ways when we entered our respected middle school. Last year he went to national, but I hadn't been playing as regular in Teikou yet, so I couldn't meet him. But this year… finally we will get to meet each other."_—Kuroko sounded happy and content when he talked about that childhood friend of him. He seemed to be a very precious person for Kuroko.

Kagami listened intently. It was rare for Kuroko to speak about himself, especially his past. But, the subject was rather grating. After all, Kagami couldn't help feeling rather jealous that Kuroko spoke about someone so highly. When there would be a time for Kagami to be that someone for Kuroko? He couldn't help wondering… and then he kicked himself mentally for being so narrow-minded jerk.

_Kuroko has Aomine, remember? Get a fucking clue, Kagami and back off!_—Kagami clenched his fist at the throb in his heart. He needed to let go, seriously.

"_Kagami-kun?"_—Kuroko's tone seemed inquiring and Kagami blinked for just realizing that he had stopped responding to Kuroko's question. Shit. What did he ask him again?

"Ah, sorry… I got distracted by a cat, just now. What was it?" he made excuse while laughing sheepishly.

"_Ah, no… I was just wondering if we can meet before the tournament, you know? But if you are busy…"_

"LET'S MEET!" Kagami agreed loudly before Kuroko could change his mind. "I mean, I also want to meet you… err… I mean, it's been awhile since we met each other after all…" he flushed for being so eager. Damn! If he acted this stupid all the time, Kuroko would surely notice it. He had to control himself more!

"_Then… is it okay if I stop by your house tomorrow?"_—Kuroko sounded slightly amused even though he wasn't laughing outright. Kagami felt himself heating up even more at that.

"Yeah, please come…"

…

"I mean, please come in my house…"

…

"…wait, that didn't sound right either!" Kagami was horrified. "I mean _come to_! _Come to_ my house!" At this point, his face color was flaming, totally matching is hair. He was sure of it. Kuroko only chuckled slightly before answering after such long silence on his part.

"_I'd surely like to come in your house."_

"KUROKO?!"

_Damn it! Stupid innuendo!_

**End of Chapter 10**

**Tbc…**

* * *

**Additional Notes:**

**1)_Doki-doki_: **the heartbeat sound in Japanese sfx.

**A/N:** I'm sorry for the lack of action in court. Describing basketball match isn't really my forte, and since this fic is categorized under drama and romance, don't expect me to write a basketball match in detail because it will never happen. Also… I warned you about the inconsistency and the middle school names. I still used some canon ones though, like Teikou, Shōei, Meikou and Kamata as for the middle school for the Crown-less Generals… it's made up. Well, it's impossible to explain everything here, so… go and ask if you have question. So long as it has nothing to do with the plot progress, then I'll try to answer! Now, feedback time! I'll be waiting~*love*


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